Abstract
The content of attributional interpretations and their discrepancy from the attributinal styles of subjects were manipulated in order to investigate the importance of these variables to the effectiveness of interpretation. Thirty-nine subjects experiencing problematic negative emotions and exhibiting either characterological or external attributional styles were given brief counseling that included either characterological or external interpretations. The discrepancy variable was formed by matching subjects' attributional styles with interpretation content. Results indicated that interpretation discrepancy was irrelevant to change in subjects' negative emotions, attributional styles, and problem-related attributions. Change on the internality dimension of subjects' problem-related attributions was partly due to interpretation content. Subjects' negative emotions improved in all treatment conditions. Subjects' characterological attributional styles became less stable after receiving interpretations, and in all conditions, subjects' attributional styles became less global. Implications for the use of interpretation in counseling are discussed. (Author)