ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the interplay between emotions and cognitions about emotions, using emotion attribution theory concepts. It examines research indicating that causal attributions about the sources and meaning of emotional arousal determine the impact of that emotional response in moral decisions and behavior for adults and children. Within the culture of “middle America,” for example, situations involving theft, or others being hurt, may be perceived by most people as clearly calling for moral decisions, whereas less consensus as to moral relevance would exist for some other issues. A series of studies are presented to illustrate the point that specific attributions made about temptation situations determine whether an individual will respond to a temptation situation as a moral dilemma. In the placebo research with adults, emotion attributions were manipualted in a manner quite dissimilar from real-life experiences. The chapter analyses effectiveness of various socialization techniques for both normal and psychopathic individuals, using emotion attribution concepts.
