Question

Attribution theory and determinants of attribution

Answer 1

a) Attribution Theory

Attribution theory is a social psychology theory developed by Fritz Heider, Harold

Kelley, Edward E. Jones, and Lee Ross. The theory explores how individuals

"attribute" causes to events and behavior.

It is defined as,

“An attempt when individuals observe behavior to determine whether it is

internally or externally caused of our or others.”

There are following two attributing factors that people make:

A. Dispositional or Internal Attributes

B. Situational or External Attributes

A. Dispositional or Internal Attributes

• "Internal" or "dispositional" attribution is the process of assigning the cause

of behavior to some internal characteristic, rather than to outside forces.

• When we explain the behavior of others we look for enduring internal

attributions, such as personality traits.

• For example, we attribute the behavior of a person to their personality,

intelligence, abilities, motives or beliefs etc.

• Internal causes are under that person’s control.

B. Situational or External Attributes

• "External" or "situational" attribution is the process of assigning the cause

of behavior to some situation or event outside a person's control rather

than to some internal characteristic.

• When we try to explain our own behavior we tend to make external

attributions, such as situational or environment features.

• External causes are not that person’s control.

b) Determining Factors of Attribution Theory

Important Notes for Final Term

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Answer 2

Attribution theory is concerned with how ordinary people explain the causes of behavior and events. For example, is someone angry because they are bad-tempered or because something bad happened?

A formal defintion is provided by Fiske and Taylor (1991, p. 23):

“Attribution theory deals with how the social perceiver uses information to arrive at causal explanations for events.  It examines what information is gathered and how it is combined to form a causal judgment”.

Heider (1958) believed that people are naive psychologists trying to make sense of the social world.  People tend to see cause and effect relationships, even where there is none!

Heider didn’t so much develop a theory himself as emphasize certain themes that others took up.  There were two main ideas that he put forward that became influential: dispositional (internal cause) vs situational (external cause) attricutions.

Dispositional vs Situational Attribution

1. Dispositional Attribution

Dispositional attribution assigns the cause of behavior to some internal characteristic of a person, rather than to outside forces.

When we explain the behavior of others we look for enduring internal attributions, such as personality traits. This is known as the fundamental attribution error.

For example, we attribute the behavior of a person to their personality, motives or beliefs.

2. Situational Attribution

The process of assigning the cause of behavior to some situation or event outside a person's control rather than to some internal characteristic.

When we try to explain our own behavior we tend to make external attributions, such as situational or environment features.

Jones & Davis Correspondent Inference Theory

Jones and Davis (1965) thought that people pay particular attention to intentional behavior (as opposed to accidental or unthinking behavior).

Jones and Davis’ theory helps us understand the process of making an internal attribution.  They say that we tend to do this when we see a correspondence between motive and behavior.  For example, when we see a correspondence between someone behaving in a friendly way and being a friendly person.

Dispositional (i.e., internal) attributions provide us with information from which we can make predictions about a person’s future behavior. The correspondent inference theory describes the conditions under which we make dispositional attributes to the behavior we perceive as intentional.

Davis used the term correspondent inference to refer to an occasion when an observer infers that a person’s behavior matches or corresponds with their personality.  It is an alternative term to dispositional attribution.  

So what leads us to make a correspondent inference?  Jones and Davis say we draw on five sources of information:

Choice: If a behavior is freely chosen it is believed to be due to internal (dispositional) factors.

Accidental vs. Intentional Behavior: Behavior that is intentional is likely to be attributed to the person’s personality, and behavior which is accidental is likely to be attributed to situation / external causes.

Social Desirability: Behaviors low in sociable desirability (non conforming) lead us to make (internal) dispositional inferences more than socially undesirable behaviors.  For example, if you observe a person getting on a bus and sitting on the floor instead of one of the seats. This behavior has low social desirability (non conforming) and is likely to correspond with the personality of the individual.

Hedonistic Relevance: If the other person’s behavior appears to be directly intended to benefit or harm us.  

Personalism: If the other person’s behavior appears to be intended to have an impact on us, we assume that it is “personal”, and not just a by-product of the situation we are both in.