Attribution Theory in Social Psychology

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering attribution theories, key researchers, and classic experiments from social psychology.

Attribution

The process of trying to understand the causes behind other people's behavior.

Fritz Heider

The early social psychologist who introduced the concept of attribution, proposing that explanations for behavior fall into internal or external factors.

Internal Attribution

An explanation that attributes a person's behavior to an internal trait, disposition, or personal characteristic.

External Attribution

An explanation that attributes a person's behavior to situational or environmental circumstances outside of the individual.

Harold Kelley

A social psychologist who applied the logic of analysis of variance (ANOVA) to propose an attribution model based on consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness.

Consistency

In Harold Kelley's model, the extent to which a person usually behaves in the exact same way in a given situation over time.

Consensus

In Harold Kelley's model, the extent to which other people in the exact same situation act in the same way as the person being observed.

Distinctiveness

In Harold Kelley's model, the extent to which a person's specific behavior is unique to one particular situation rather than occurring across many situations.

Characterization

The automatic, effortless first step in Daniel Gilbert's attribution model where an observer attributes a behavior to an internal factor.

Correction

The controlled, effortful second step in Daniel Gilbert's attribution model where an observer considers situational factors to adjust their initial judgment.

Jones and Harris (1967)

A classic experiment demonstrating that participants attributed pro- or anti-Castro attitudes to essay writers even when informed the writers were assigned their positions.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency for observers to overestimate the importance of internal factors and underemphasize external, situational factors when explaining human behavior.

Perceptual Salience

The phenomenon where whatever visual or attentional element is most prominent in an observer's focus is perceived as the primary driving factor in a decision or situation.