Is Weiner's attribution-help model stable across cultures? A test in Brazilian subcultures

The effect of attribution of responsibility on the intention to help is a well‐studied effect. The Weiner model of attribution‐emotion‐help is the main theoretical development to describe the structural relation between these variables. Some research results have suggested that culture influences th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of psychology 2015-08, Vol.50 (4), p.295-302
Main Authors: Pilati, Ronaldo, Ferreira, Maria Cristina, Porto, Juliana B., de Oliveira Borges, Livia, de Lima, Iranilson C., Lellis, Irani L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attribution
Brazil
Cultural differences
Culture
Emotions
Female
Helping Behavior
Humans
Individualism
Individualism-Collectivism
Internal-External Control
Male
Manipulation
Models, Psychological
Path analysis
Prosocial behaviour
Social psychology
Social Responsibility
Students - psychology
Sympathy
Weiner attribution-help model
Young Adult
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Summary:The effect of attribution of responsibility on the intention to help is a well‐studied effect. The Weiner model of attribution‐emotion‐help is the main theoretical development to describe the structural relation between these variables. Some research results have suggested that culture influences the relation between model variables. Collectivists tend to show more compassionate emotions independent of attribution of responsibility whereby emotion is no longer a mediator. The present research aims to test the Weiner model in Brazil, a country with established subcultures and clear distinctions in the collectivism–individualism dimension across its regions. An experiment with 1,569 participants from all five Brazilian regions was conducted. Path analysis revealed that more socially oriented participants tended to feel more compassion for the experimental scenario's protagonist, independent of controllability manipulation, decreasing the effect of emotions in the model. These results depict the effect of culture on the model, questioning the stability of the model across cultures.
ISSN:0020-7594
1464-066X
DOI:10.1002/ijop.12100