An attributional approach to counseling was investigated in two separate studies. In Experiment 1 the theoretical basis for the use of attributional interpretations was tested by giving individuals who had just received a negative social evaluation no information or information that stressed one of four types of causes: internal/controllable, internal/uncontrollable, external/controllable, and external/uncontrollable. Results indicated that stressing internal/ controllable causes produced more positive affective reactions and performance evaluations among internal locus of control respondents, whereas e\-\ ternals were more variable in their responses. Experiment 2 assessed the generalizability of these findings by administering causal counseling to individuals who identified themselves as interpersonally anxious. Utilizing a quasicounseling design, participants were exposed to one of two interpretations emphasizing internal control or coping. The results of Experiment 2 confirmed initial conclusions that the effectiveness of causal counseling may depend on the individual's locus of control.An attributional approach to social behavior traces problems in personal adjustment back to the assumptions individuals formulate concerning the causes of behaviors and events (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978;Valins & Nisbett, 1971). According to this perspective, the person who experiences a stressful life event-such as loss of employment, dissolution of an intimate relationship, or continual family disharmony-will explain this event by making causal inferences that can, in part, determine personal adjustment during and after the life crisis. Research dealing with learned helplessness (e.g.

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