Schumann Karina, Dweck Carol S
Stanford University, CA, USA
Stanford University, CA, USA.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2014 Dec;40(12):1598-610. doi: 10.1177/0146167214552789. Epub 2014 Sep 24.
After committing an offense, transgressors can optimize their chances of reconciling with the victim by accepting responsibility. However, transgressors may be motivated to avoid admitting fault because it can feel threatening to accept blame for harmful behavior. Who, then, is likely to accept responsibility for a transgression? We examined how implicit theories of personality--whether people see personality as malleable (incremental theory) or fixed (entity theory)--influence transgressors' likelihood of accepting responsibility. We argue that incremental theorists may feel less threatened by accepting responsibility because they are more likely to view the situation as an opportunity for them to grow as a person and develop their relationship with the victim. We found support for our predictions across four studies using a combination of real-world and hypothetical offenses, and correlational and experimental methods. These studies therefore identify an important individual difference factor that can lead to more effective responses from transgressors.
犯罪后，违法者可以通过承担责任来提高与受害者和解的机会。然而，违法者可能会出于动机而避免承认过错，因为承认对有害行为的责任可能会让人感觉受到威胁。那么，谁更有可能为违法行为承担责任呢？我们研究了关于人格的内隐理论——人们是将人格视为可塑造的（渐变理论）还是固定的（实体理论）——如何影响违法者承担责任的可能性。我们认为，渐变理论者可能会觉得承担责任带来的威胁较小，因为他们更有可能将这种情况视为一个让自己成长为人并发展与受害者关系的机会。我们通过四项研究，结合现实世界和假设的违法行为以及相关和实验方法，为我们的预测找到了支持。因此，这些研究确定了一个重要的个体差异因素，它可以促使违法者做出更有效的回应。
