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The Attribution of Blame

Causality, Responsibility, and Blameworthiness

  • Book
  • © 1985

Overview

Authors:
  1. Kelly G. Shaver

    1. Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, USA

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Part of the book series: Springer Series in Social Psychology (SSSOC)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Events and Accountability

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 1-10

  3. Causes and Explanations

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 11-33

  4. The Attribution of Causality

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 35-62

  5. Dimensions of Responsibility

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 63-86

  6. Attributions of Responsibility

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 87-113

  7. Rationality and Bias: Intentions, Reasons, and Motives

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 115-136

  8. Attributions of Causality and Responsibility: Discovered or Imposed?

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 137-154

  9. A Theory of Blame

    • Kelly G. Shaver
    Pages 155-176

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 177-183
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Keywords

About this book

How can we identify the causes of events? What does it mean to assert that someone is responsible for a moral affront? Under what circumstances should we blame others for wrongdoing? The related, but conceptually distinct, issues of causality, responsibility, and blameworthiness that are the subject of this book play a critical role in our everyday social encounters. As very young children we learn to assert that "it wasn't my fault," or that "I didn't mean to do it." Responsibility and blame follow us into adulthood, as personal or organizational failings require explanation. Although judgments of moral accountability are quickly made and adamantly defended, the process leading to those judgments is not as simple as it might seem. Psychological research on causality and responsibility has not taken complete advantage of a long tradition of philosophical analysis of these concepts. Philosophical discussions, for their part, have not been sufficiently I1ware of the psychological realities. An assignment of blame is a social explanation. It is the outcome of a process that begins with an event having negative consequences, involves judgments about causality, personal responsibility, and possible mitigation. The result can be an assertion, or a denial, of individual blameworthiness. The purpose of this book is to develop a comprehensive theory of how people assign blame.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, USA

    Kelly G. Shaver

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