“I wanna thank me”: Reputational consequences of attribution locus depend on outcome valence

Five studies (four preregistered; total n = 2948, French and U.S. adult participants) show that the reputational consequences of attributing an outcome to internal or external sources depend on the outcome's valence. Individuals are liked more when they attribute successes to external sources (such as their teammates) and when they attribute failures to internal sources (such as themselves) (Studies 1, 2, and 3). Consequently, participants donate more to others who fit this attribution profile (Study 4). This preference is associated with participants' belief that targets attributing successes internally and failures externally are misrepresenting their contribution to the outcome (Studies 1 and 3). The effect is observed for attributions made both in public and in private but is slightly weaker for those made in private settings (Study 5). We discuss theoretical implications of the results for impression formation and the psychology of perceived contribution, and practical implications for communication in organizational and workplace settings.