Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2025
05:03
Author Spotlight: Unveiling Mechanisms of Stress Resilience - Significant Findings, Advancements, and Future Research
Published on: December 15, 2023
4.0K
Relational attributions for one's own resilience predict compassion for others
Rachel L Ruttan1, Ting Zhang2, Sivahn B Barli3
1Department of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|January 11, 2024
Summary
Attributing resilience to social support, or relational resilience attributions, uniquely predicts compassion for others facing hardship. This contrasts with the common tendency to credit internal factors for overcoming challenges.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Attribution Theory
- Prosocial Behavior
Background:
- Attribution theory differentiates internal and external attributions for success.
- Relational resilience attributions, focusing on social support, are an understudied form of external attribution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and investigate relational resilience attributions.
- To examine the link between relational attributions and compassion.
- To explore the causal role and malleability of relational attributions.
Main Methods:
- Documented attribution types (internal, relational, situational) in individuals who overcame unemployment.
- Correlated relational attributions with compassion across diverse adversity contexts.
- Experimentally induced relational attributions in various participant groups.
Main Results:
- Internal attributions were most common, but relational attributions uniquely predicted compassion.
- Relational attributions positively predicted compassion for individuals facing loss, addiction, bullying, divorce, and pandemic survival.
- Gratitude mediated the relationship between personal relational attributions and compassion for others.
Conclusions:
- Relational resilience attributions are a distinct and important construct.
- Fostering relational attributions can enhance compassion, even when internal attributions are more prevalent.
- Social support attributions play a key role in promoting prosocial behavior.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Fundamental Attribution Error
12.9K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
12.9K
01:55Egoism and Altruism
92.0K
Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?
92.0K
02:34Empathy
9.6K
Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Empathy can be expressed in several ways, including cognitive, affective, and motor.
9.6K
00:56Attribution Theory
13.0K
Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).
13.0K
01:26Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques I
49
Stress prevention and management are crucial for maintaining well-being and building resilience. Techniques to manage stress include cultivating qualities like conscientiousness, a sense of personal control, and self-efficacy. Each of these traits significantly reduces stress and promotes healthier lifestyle choices and outcomes.
Conscientiousness
Conscientious individuals tend to be organized, responsible, and disciplined. They prioritize completing tasks and following structured routines,...
Conscientiousness
Conscientious individuals tend to be organized, responsible, and disciplined. They prioritize completing tasks and following structured routines,...
49
03:34Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
43.5K
Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.
43.5K