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These Conditions Either Were Or Where Not Given A Specific Label. although ...

These conditions either were or where not given a specific label.
Although there were a number of significant differences in the causal attributions of illness between the three conditions, psychological causes were described as the major cause of illness following each scenario, despite the fact that there are valid biological causes for each condition. It can be concluded therefore, that the actual causes of illnesses have little bearing on the causal attributions that are made by lay individuals.This attribution to psychological causes may have negative implications towards sufferers, as they may be seen as malingerers, not having any ‘real' physiological causes behind their circumstances. Subsequent research should be undertaken to establish whether psychological attributions do cause these negative perceptions and if so this should be dealt with accordingly within the medical profession.
Contrary to the hypothesis, there were also no differences in the causal attributions made between conditions, according to whether the illnesses were given an associated label or not. Once again, the attributed causes were psychological in nature. It is therefore suggested that the attribution of the causes of illnesses to psychological causes (regardless of labelling) is the consequence of the influence of Western culture. Nisbett & Masuda (2003) point out that culture has substantial effects on the way individuals are socialised into making attributions. Westerners tend to make attributions which are based on categorisation, rules and logic.In contrast, minorities are more likely to make attributions based a broader and less structured field, possibly due to their less structured lives.Klonoff & Landrine (1994) assessed the ways in which people attributed illness cause to a six conditions. These were AIDS, the common cold, diabetes, hypertension, lung cancer, and headaches (n = 178). Ethnic and gender differences in causal attributions also were assessed. They found that each of the illnesses was seen as caused by different factors. These authors observed no differences between minorities and whites in the perceived causes of the illnesses. In contrast, Landrine and Klonoff (1994) found that minorities rated supernatural causes of illness as significantly more important than did a sample of whites and Furnham (1994) found that British participants tend to emphasize psychological and lifestyle factors in the attribution of the causes of illness, for example, the concept of ‘stress' is now seen as a acceptable and valid cause of illness.
However, it must be considered that this attribution to psychological causes may be a consequence of bias within the scenarios, given that each was written by the researcher.

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