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An attribution theory of self-confidence

Sears, Paul Albert
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054737188

Abstract Details

1990, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
The research question explored in this experimental simulation was the nature of the relationship between poise and communication skills, leadership, interpersonal resonance, gender, and attributions of self-confidence. This set of potentially significant cues and clues were derived from an earlier unpublished exploratory research effort conducted by the author. Simulated interviews were designed to manipulate the poise and communication skills independent variable using a male and a female actor, each of whom enacted a high and low poise interviewee role on videotape. High and low leadership was manipulated by means of two different sets of documentary data in the form of a resume and letter of recommendation. Interpersonal resonance, another intervening variable, was a confounding factor and not intentionally manipulated. Gender as a moderating variable was manipulated by utilizing interviewees of different sex, as well as male and female questionnaire respondents. The respondents were 233 middle-level managers who were enrolled in a part-time MBA program. The results showed that while the intended poise/communication and leadership variable manipulations were successful, highly significant main effects resulted only for the poise/communication skills variable on attributions of self-confidence. Documentary evidence of leadership traits and experience, gender, and attractiveness effects had no significant impact on perceptions of self-confidence. These results would suggest that in a first-impression context like a job interview, attributions of self-confidence are largely contingent upon concrete, behaviorally-oriented data rather than more abstract, vicariously-known data. These attributions are independent of the gender of both the perceiver and the perceived. Implications of these findings included the suggestion that the term self-confidence might be most usefully reserved as a behavioral label, with another term, like self-esteem, being reserved for intrapsychic, cognitive states. It was also suggested that organizational members seeking to foster an impression of self-confidence in a first-impression context pay more explicit attention to poise and communication behaviors, in addition to the attention that traditionally gets paid to the preparation of documentary and other vicarious evidence of leadership experience. Implications for students going on job interviews, career counselors, teachers, and human resource professionals and trainers were explored.
Richard Boyatzis (Advisor)
191 p.
attribution theory; self-confidence

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sears, P. A. (1990). An attribution theory of self-confidence [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054737188

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sears, Paul. An attribution theory of self-confidence. 1990. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054737188.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sears, Paul. "An attribution theory of self-confidence." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 1990. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054737188

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1054737188
1,662
© 1990, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.