Sharing Credit and Taking Responsibility: A Key to Positive Perceptions

GSEM Professor Ignazio Ziano, along with Deming Wang and Ovul Sezer, co-authored an article published in the top-tier Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The research examines how people’s attribution of success and failure shapes their perception by others.

Across five studies with nearly 3,000 participants in France and the United States, the findings show that individuals are viewed more positively when they share credit for their successes and take responsibility for their failures. This approach not only makes people seem more likable but also encourages others to act generously toward them. The study highlights that claiming all the credit or shifting blame can harm reputation. These insights offer practical guidance for communication in professional and social contexts: acknowledging others in success and accepting responsibility in failure fosters trust and positive relationships.

ABSTRACT

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.

The study is available here: “I wanna thank me”: Reputational consequences of attribution locus depend on outcome valence

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