Returns attributes for a factory with associations

controllers_helper.rb

# spec/support/controllers_helper.rb
module ControllersHelper
  # Since FactoryGirl.attributes_for excludes associations, use FactoryGirl.build and then
  # strip out the protected attributes.
  def build_attributes(*args)
    build_object = FactoryGirl.build(*args)
    build_object.attributes.slice(*build_object.class.accessible_attributes).symbolize_keys
  end
end

Thanks for posting this, really appreciate it. Saved the day!