1. Both Jim and his parents make attributions to explain his grades. Describe the dimensions of Jim’s attributions and those of his parents. Apply what you’ve learned in this chapter by analyzing the following case study, using the accompanying questions as a guide. These questions and a video of the case study are also available online at your CourseMate for Communication Mosaics.

Your friend Jim tells you about a problem he’s having with his parents. According to Jim, his parents have unrealistic expectations of him. He tends to be an average student, usually making C’s, a few B’s, and an occasional D in his courses. His parents are angry that his grades aren’t better. Jim tells you that when he went home last month, his father said this:

© Cengage Learning Jim’s father: I’m not paying for you to go to school so you can party with your friends. I paid my own way and still made Phi Beta Kappa. You have a free ride, and you’re still just pulling C’s. You just have to study harder.

Jim [to you]: I mean, I like to hang out with my friends, but that’s got nothing to do with my grades. My dad’s this brilliant guy, I mean, he just cruised through college; he thinks it’s easy. I don’t know how it was back then, but all my classes are hard. I mean, no matter how much studying I do, I’m not gonna get all A’s. What should I do? I mean, how do I convince them that I’m doing everything I can?