Attribution Moderator of Relationship between Belief in a Just World with Female Student's Aggressive Reaction

This research was conducted with the purpose of studying the moderating role of attribution in relation between belief in a just world with aggressive reaction among female students. Research statistical population were the female students of an art school in Esfahan city (360 persons). Among them as a research sample group, 180 persons were selected using simple random sampling and then randomly assigned to three situations: hostile, benign and ambiguous (each group 60 persons) attribution. Students’ attribution of each group has manipulated on the basis of three situationary scenarios. Research instruments including: belief in a just world for self scale (8 items), belief in a just world for others scale (with 8 items), troublemaking (with 3 items), aggressive reaction (with 2 items) and social desirability questionnaire (with 6 items). For entering situation variable (hostile, benign and ambiguous attribution) in data analysis, contrast coding has been used. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and moderated hierarchical regression analysis. Results from moderated hierarchical regression analysis showed that situational attributaion variable (hostile=1, benign=-1, and ambiguous=0) and trouble making (high and low) have moderating power in relations between belief in a just world for self and others with aggressive reaction. Evidences from separate regression analysis for low and high troublemaking on the basis of three situation, that is hostile, benign and ambiguous situations, revealed that in high troublemaking and hostile group there are positive relations between belief in a just world for self and others with aggressive reaction, but in low troublemaking and in two groups of benign and ambiguous situations, there are negative relations between belief in just word with aggressive reaction.