It is proposed that differences in rejection attribution could yield variations in subsequent prosocial behavior. To test the attribution hypothesis, 109 participants were randomly assigned to a performance based rejection, a personally based rejection, or a control condition and then worked with an ostensible partner via the Internet to develop uses for a common household item. Prosocial behavior was measured by the number of uses a participant generated (working harder for the team). When generating creative uses, participants in the rejection conditions performed significantly worse than nonrejected participants (F(2,74) = 4.576, p<.05, r2=.11). However, in contradiction to the attribution hypothesis, participants in the 2 rejection conditions did not differ in performance. Explanations for why the rejection attribution hypothesis was not supported are discussed in addition to directions for future research regarding rejection attribution.
","abstract_html":"<p>It is proposed that differences in rejection attribution could yield variations in subsequent prosocial behavior. To test the attribution hypothesis, 109 participants were randomly assigned to a performance based rejection, a personally based rejection, or a control condition and then worked with an ostensible partner via the Internet to develop uses for a common household item. Prosocial behavior was measured by the number of uses a participant generated (working harder for the team). When generating creative uses, participants in the rejection conditions performed significantly worse than nonrejected participants (<em>F</em>(2,74) = 4.576, <em>p</em><.05, <em>r</em><sup>2</sup>=.11). However, in contradiction to the attribution hypothesis, participants in the 2 rejection conditions did not differ in performance. Explanations for why the rejection attribution hypothesis was not supported are discussed in addition to directions for future research regarding rejection attribution.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nelson, Brian Curtis"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-08-19T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-08-19T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:03Z","subjects":["Social Rejection","Rejection Attribution","Attribution","Rejection","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1883","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nelson, Brian Curtis"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2009-08-19T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social Rejection","Rejection Attribution","Attribution","Rejection","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Psychology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3235/viewcontent/NelsonB053009f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1883"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["It is proposed that differences in rejection attribution could yield variations in subsequent prosocial behavior. To test the attribution hypothesis, 109 participants were randomly assigned to a performance based rejection, a personally based rejection, or a control condition and then worked with an ostensible partner via the Internet to develop uses for a common household item. Prosocial behavior was measured by the number of uses a participant generated (working harder for the team). When generating creative uses, participants in the rejection conditions performed significantly worse than nonrejected participants (F(2,74) = 4.576, p<.05, r2=.11). However, in contradiction to the attribution hypothesis, participants in the 2 rejection conditions did not differ in performance. Explanations for why the rejection attribution hypothesis was not supported are discussed in addition to directions for future research regarding rejection attribution.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Why was I Rejected? How the Attributed Reason for Social Rejection Impacts Subsequent Behavior."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Nelson, Brian Curtis"],"dc:date.issued":["2009-08-19T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["It is proposed that differences in rejection attribution could yield variations in subsequent prosocial behavior. To test the attribution hypothesis, 109 participants were randomly assigned to a performance based rejection, a personally based rejection, or a control condition and then worked with an ostensible partner via the Internet to develop uses for a common household item. Prosocial behavior was measured by the number of uses a participant generated (working harder for the team). When generating creative uses, participants in the rejection conditions performed significantly worse than nonrejected participants (F(2,74) = 4.576, p<.05, r2=.11). However, in contradiction to the attribution hypothesis, participants in the 2 rejection conditions did not differ in performance. Explanations for why the rejection attribution hypothesis was not supported are discussed in addition to directions for future research regarding rejection attribution.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3235/viewcontent/NelsonB053009f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1883"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["Social Rejection","Rejection Attribution","Attribution","Rejection","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Psychology"],"dc:title":["Why was I Rejected? How the Attributed Reason for Social Rejection Impacts Subsequent Behavior."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:03Z"}