Lecture 7 - Attribution

LECTURE 7 - ATTRIBUTION

Overview of Attribution

By the end of the session, you should be able to:

  • Describe Heider’s theory of attribution.

  • Describe Kelley’s covariation model of attribution.

  • Explain Weiner’s model for explaining success and failure.

  • Describe how the attributional process is subject to bias.

HEIDER (1958)

Individuals feel discomfort in uncertain situations, prompting attributions. Attributions help to explain the causes of behavior and events.Types of Attribution:

  • Internal Attribution: Blame is placed on the person (e.g., skill or effort). This implies that the individual's characteristics explain their behavior.

  • External Attribution: Blame is placed on the situation (e.g., luck or external pressures). This suggests that environmental factors and situational contexts account for an individual’s behavior.

People are more inclined to make external attributions due to greater knowledge about the situation than the individual.Examples:

  • Internal: Incompetent, Convincing, Effort.

  • External: Unlucky, Unfair treatment, Lack of resources.

COVARIATION MODEL (Kelley, 1967)

Kelley’s covariation model considers three types of information to assess attributions:

  1. Consistency Information: Does the person behave similarly in this situation consistently? High consistency indicates that the behavior is likely attributable to the person.

  2. Distinctiveness Information: Does the person behave this way towards different objects or situations? Low distinctiveness (the behavior occurs in many situations) suggests internal attribution.

  3. Consensus Information: Do others behave similarly in this situation? High consensus (many people behave this way) suggests external attribution.

Attribution Outcomes:

  • Internal attribution occurs when consistency is high but distinctiveness and consensus are low.

  • External attribution occurs when all classes of information (consistency, distinctiveness, consensus) are high.

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ON COVARIATION

Lalljee et al. (1984): Provided events requiring explanation to participants and found that less than 20% of questions related to consensus, consistency, or distinctiveness. This highlights the complexity of how people reason about causality.

WEINER (1986)

Weiner proposed a model of achievement attribution based on three dimensions:

  • Locus: Internal (personal) vs. External (situational) factors.

  • Stability: Stable (unlikely to change) vs. Unstable (likely to change) factors.

  • Control: Controllable vs. Uncontrollable factors.

Examples:

  • Internal & Stable: Skill, Effort.

  • Internal & Unstable: Resource availability (e.g., courses).

  • External & Stable: Ability, Energy.

  • External & Unstable: Task difficulty, Luck.

Weiner's model emphasizes that different attributions can lead to different emotional responses and future expectations of behavior.

EMOTIONAL PREDICTIONS BASED ON ATTRIBUTIONS

Attributions can predict emotions, which in turn predict behaviors. For instance, if an individual attributes success to skill, they may feel pride, whereas if they label a failure as luck, they may not internalize the failure. Shepherd et al. (2023) found links between moral outrage, shame, and pride based on different attribution types.

FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR

Also referred to as correspondence bias, this is the tendency to attribute others' behaviors to internal factors while ignoring external influences. This error can significantly distort our understanding of others' actions.Example: Viewing someone as clumsy instead of considering external variables like the environment (e.g., slippery floors).Jones & Harris (1967): Participants read speeches about Fidel Castro, some choosing their stance while others were instructed. This study illustrated how impressions were formed based on internal vs. external causes.

ACTOR-OBSERVER EFFECT

This effect highlights a distinction in attributions:

  • Others' Behaviors: Attributed to internal factors (e.g., personality traits).

  • Own Behaviors: Attributed to situational factors (e.g., stress or circumstances).Nisbett and Caputo (1971): Studied participants' reasoning about liking a person vs. their friend's reasoning. Results showed a tendency for external attribution for self and internal for friends, illustrating how context shapes attribution.

SELF-SERVING BIAS

This bias involves attributions aimed at enhancing self-esteem:

  • Success: Attributed to self (self-enhancing).

  • Failure: Attributed to external factors (self-protecting).Johnson et al. (1964): Educational psychology students attributed their false feedback results based on given tasks in a manner that protected self-esteem, demonstrating how individuals rationalize their failures.

ULTIMATE ATTRIBUTION ERROR

This concept illustrates biases in group attributions, highlighting differential attributions based on group membership:

  • Ingroup: Success attributed to ability; failure to bad luck.

  • Outgroup: Success attributed to luck; failure attributed to ability.

CONCLUSION

Internal and external attributions shape our understanding of causality and interpersonal dynamics. Kelley’s covariation model informs the evaluation of behavior based on consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus. Weiner’s model provides a framework where attributions can be categorized by locus, stability, and controllability, influencing emotional responses and behavior predictions. Awareness of attribution biases such as the fundamental attribution error, actor-observer effect, self-serving bias, and ultimate attribution error is crucial in understanding interpersonal dynamics and fostering more accurate perceptions and interactions.