University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Attribution is the process of inferring the causes of events or behaviors. In social psychology, this often involves determining whether a behavior is due to internal factors, such as personality and character (a dispositional attribution), or external factors, such as the environment and social context (a situational attribution).

Attribution

A causal explanation using evidence from a person's personality. "Matt won the prize because he is so smart."

Dispositional attribution (internal)

A causal explanation using evidence from the situation a person is in. "Matt ate the ice cream because it was hot outside."

Situational attribution (external)

- The fundamental attribution error
- Explanatory style
- Self-serving biases

Influences on attributions (explanations)

The tendency to attribute the cause of our own behavior to the situation, but view others' as being caused by their traits (dispositional).

Fundamental Attribution Error

Self-serving bias is a type of bias that is characterized by an individual's tendency to attribute their accomplishments to internal factors (e.g., personality traits) and attribute their failures to situational aspects. 

Self-Serving Bias

When explaining why someone performed poorly on a test, which of the following is an example of a dispositional attribution?

Which of the following is an example of a situational attribution for someone arriving late to a meeting?

Which of the following is an example of a dispositional attribution for someone getting a promotion at work?

A prominent model of attribution suggests that we analyze the cause of a result based on three key dimensions: the locus of control (whether the cause is internal or external), stability (whether the cause is stable or unstable), and controllability (whether the cause is controllable or not). This framework was proposed by Weiner in 1979.

Three Dimensions of Attribution (Weiner, 1979)

Attributions for behavior can be skewed by several factors. Common sources of bias include making judgments with incomplete information about another person's motives and the psychological tendency to form explanations that preserve or boost one's self-esteem.

Sources of Bias in Attribution

People tend to blame individuals more for unfavorable outcomes, especially if the condition is perceived as controllable.

Attribution Theory (Blame)

Suppose a coworker shows up late to work. Your belief as to what caused their tardiness is an attribution; you might attribute it to external, situational factors (e.g., too much traffic) or internal, dispositional factors (e.g., sleeping too late or not caring about being on time).

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