Is it always a matter of perspective? Construct differentiation and variability in attributions about compliance gaining

This study investigates whether attributions made while observing compliance‐gaining interactions always are a matter of perspective. We propose that Construct Differentiation moderates the effects of perspective on causal judgments, such that highly differentiated individuals are more responsive than less differentiated persons to information from interaction that their psychological perspective makes salient. Participants viewed three videotaped compliance‐gaining interactions, one each while taking the perspective of the message source, the message target, and a third‐party observer. Then they rated causes for the target's actions and the target's intent. As predicted, Construct Differentiation was positively associated with intrapersonal variability in ratings of causal judgments across the three perspectives, and positively associated with actor/observer differences when taking the perspective of message source versus target. Implications for interpersonal communication, constructivism, and attribution theories are discussed.