Contents
 ATTRIBUTION THORY DEFINITION
 TYPES OF ATTRIBUTION
 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTRIBUTIONS(KELLY’S MODEL)
 COMMON ATTRIBUTION ERRORS
 SHORTCUTS USED IN FORMING IMPRESSIONS OF OTHERS
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
DEFINITION
Attribution theory is a theory about how people explain things.
Attribution refer to the way people try to understand the behavior of
others or interpret events around them.
Attribution theory seeks to explain how and why people make these
causal attributions.
Types Of Attribution
CATEGORY 1
• INTERNAL
• EXTERNAL
CATEGORY 2
• STABLE
• UNSTABLE
CATEGORY 3
• CONTROLLABLE
• UNCONTROLLABLE
Internal vs. External
In an internal, or dispositional, attribution, people infer that an event
or a person’s behavior is due to personal factors such as traits,
abilities, or feelings.
In an external, or situational, attribution, people infer that a person’s
behavior is due to situational factors.
Stable vs. Unstable
Researchers also distinguish between stable and
unstable attributions.
When people make a Stable attribution, they infer
that an event or behavior is due to stable, unchanging
factors.
When making an Unstable attribution, they infer that
an event or behavior is due to unstable, temporary
factors.
Controllable vs. Uncontrollable
If something is controllable, we can alter it if we wish to do so.
If something is uncontrollable, it is outside our sphere of influence.
Factors That Influence
Attributions(Kelly’s model)
Distinctiveness :
Consistency :
Distinctiveness – the
consideration given to
how consistent a
person’s behavior is
across different
situations
Consistency – refers to
the measure of whether
an individual responds
the same way across
time.
Consensus : Consensus - refers to the likelihood that all
those facing the same situation will have
similar responses.
Common Attribution Errors
Fundamental
Error
Self-serving
Bias
The Fundamental Attribution Error
The fundamental attribution error is the tendency
to attribute other people’s behavior to internal factors
such as personality traits, abilities, and feelings.
The fundamental attribution error is also called
the correspondence bias, because it is assumed
that other people’s behavior corresponds to their
personal attributes.
When explaining their own behavior, on the other hand, people
tend to attribute it to situational factors.
The Self-Serving Bias
The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute successes to internal
factors and failures to situational factors.
This bias tends to increase as time passes after an event.
Therefore, the further in the past an event is, the more likely people
are to congratulate themselves for successes and to blame the
situation for failures.
Shortcuts Used in Forming Impressions
of Others
Selective
perception
Stereotyping
Halo effect
Contrast
effects
Cont.…
Selective Perception – happens when a person selectively interprets
what he sees on the basis of his interests, background, experience,
and attitudes. It is impossible for a person to assimilate everything he
sees, hears, smells, touches or tastes. Only a limited number of
stimuli can be taken in. As a result, people engage in selective
perception, but the process is affected by personal interests,
background, experience and attitude of the perceiver.
Cont.….
 Halo Effect – occurs when one attribute of a person or situation is
used to develop an overall impression of the person or situation. In
short, this occurs when we draw a general impression on the basis of
a single characteristic.
 Contrast Effects – evaluations of a person’s characteristics that are
affected by comparisons with other people recently encountered who
rank higher or lower on the same characteristics. Here, we do not
evaluate a person in isolation. Our reaction to one person is
influenced by other persons we have recently encountered.
Cont.….
Stereotyping – judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of
the group to which that person belongs. Generalization is not without
advantages. It is a means of simplifying a complex world, and it
permits us to maintain consistency. The problem, of course, is when
we inaccurately stereotype.
Bibliography
Organizational Behavior - V S P Rao.
Organization Behavior
-Johhn M Ivancevich ,Robert Konopaske
and Michael T Matteson
Organization Behavior
- Stephen P. Robbins , Timothy A. Judge
and Neharika Vohra
http://www.simplypsychology.org/attribution-theory.html
Google Images