A Structural Equation Analysis of Weiner's Attribution-Affect Model of Helping Behavior

In this study. Weiner's (1980a. I980b) altributional model of helping behavior, which holds that the effect of causal attributions of another's need on helping is mediated by the affective reactions of sympathy and anger, was analyzed via latent-variable structural modeling techniques. Weiner's model was initially tested in the context of a hypothetical subway emergency situation, and several controversial aspects of the model were clarified through a series of hierarchical model comparisons. The refined model resulting from these analyses was subsequently cross-validated with data from a different helping situation, which involved a student's request to borrow class notes. The findings are interpreted as being supportive of the attributional model of helping behavior proposed by Weiner and. more generally, as documenting the range of convenience of an attributional approach to social motivation. In addition, they attest to the potential power of latent-variable structural modeling as applied to experimental data.