Attribution of hostile and good intents, and coping behavior

Abstract

Coping strategies and attitudes to a problem depend on whether an individual thinks that the problem to be coped with (a) raised without somebody’s intention and intervention (e.g., natural phenomena) or (b) was created intentionally. In the latter case coping strategies depend on the individual attitude towards the problem creator, i.e. whether he/she thinks the problem was created with hostile or good intentions. Opportunities of integration of approaches to coping behavior and attribution of intention are discussed. Results of the study of coping with problems that were created intentionally or raised without somebody’s intention are presented.