Attribution Theory
(Heider)

How people make causal explanations. Explanation of Attribution Theory of Heider. ('58)

What is the Attribution Theory? Description

The Attribution Theory by Fritz Heider is a method that can be used for evaluating how people perceive the behavior of themselves and of other people. Attribution theory is about how people make causal explanations. In his 1958 book "The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations", Heider says that all behavior is considered to be determined by either internal or by external factors:

• External Attribution: causality is assigned to an outside factor, agent or force. Outside factors fall outside your control. You perceive you have no choice. So your behavior is influenced, limited or even completely determined by influences outside your control. Therefore you feel not responsible. A generic example is the weather. Also called: Situational Attribution.
• Internal Attribution: causality is assigned to an inside factor, agent or force. Inside factors fall inside your own control. You can choose to behave in a particular way or not. So your behavior is not influenced, limited or even completely determined by influences outside your control. Therefore you feel responsible. A typical example is your own intelligence. Also called: Dispositional Attribution.

One of the most amazing features of human beings is that we believe we can explain anything. Research by psychologists has revealed that most people are biased in their judgment of who or what is responsible for an event or an action:

• We tend to attribute the successes of others and our own failures to external factors. We perceive these as not their own merit and not our own fault.
• We tend to attribute our own successes and failures of others to internal factors. We perceive these as our own merit and their own fault.

Other factors that are believed to be relevant to attribution are:

• Do we like another person or not?  If so, internal attributing is more likely in the case of success.
• Is there a reward or punishment attached to a behavior? If so, external attributing is more likely.
• Is the other person highly motivated to achieve or not? According to Weiner ('80), a high achiever will:
  1. Approach rather than avoid tasks related to succeeding. Because he believes success is due to high ability and effort which he is confident of. Failure is thought to be caused by bad luck or a poor exam, i.e. not his fault. Thus, failure doesn't hurt his self-esteem but success builds pride and confidence.
  2. Persist when the work gets hard rather than giving up. Because failure is assumed to be caused by a lack of effort, which he can change by trying harder.
  3. Select challenges of moderate difficulty (50% success rate). Because the feedback from those tasks tells you more about how well you are doing, rather than very difficult or very easy tasks which tell you little about your ability or effectiveness.
  4. Work with a lot of energy because the results are believed to be determined by how hard you try.
• Attribution factors by Kelley (1967): Kelley advanced Heider's theory by adding hypotheses about factors that affect the formation of attributions:
  • Consistency information. The degree to which the actor performs that same behavior toward an object on different occasions.
  • Distinctiveness information. The degree to which the actor performs different behaviors with different objects.
  • Consensus information. The degree to which other actors perform the same behavior with the same object.
• Is the cause of the success or failure controllable or not? A controllable factor is one which we believe we ourselves can alter if we wish to do so. An uncontrollable factor is one that we do not believe we can easily alter.

Achievement can be attributed to at least four things:

1. Effort. An internal and unstable factor over which we can exercise a great deal of control.
2. Ability. A relatively internal and stable factor over which we do not exercise much direct control.
3. Level of task difficulty. An external and stable factor that is largely beyond our control.
4. Luck. An external and unstable factor over which we exercise very little control.

Origin of the Attribution Theory. History

Heider first wrote about attribution theory in his book The Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships (1958). The book played a central role in the origination and definition of attribution theory. Jones and Davis' systematic hypotheses about the perception of intention was published in 1965 in the essay "From Acts to Dispositions." Kelley published "Attribution in Social Psychology" in 1967. Kelley (1967) advanced Heider's theory by adding hypotheses about factors that affect the formation of attributions: consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus.

Usage of the Attribution Theory. Applications

• Psychology, Criminal Law, Ethics, Decision-making. Understanding Cognitive Bias.
• HRM. Appraisals, Self-Appraisals, Peer-Appraisals, etc.
• Education.
• Marketing Communication. Applied to advertising, attribution theory argues that consumers can attribute claims either to the advertiser's desire to sell the product (one-sided advertising) or to actual attributes of the product communicated by an honest advertiser (two-sided advertising). This theory suggests that two sided messages including negative information of the product may lead the audience to think that the advertiser is telling the truth. This enhanced perception of advertiser credibility strengthens beliefs concerning the positive attributes that the advertiser claims are associated with the product.

Steps in the Attribution Theory. Process

There is a three-stage process underlying attribution:

1. Perception. Observe. The person must perceive or observe the behavior.
2. Judgment. Determine deliberateness. The person must believe that the behavior was intentionally performed.
3. Attribute. The person must determine if he believes the other person was forced to perform the behavior (in which case the cause is attributed to the situation) or not (in which case the cause is attributed to the other person).

Book: Fritz Heider - The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations -

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Attribution Theory Forum

- Trinidad

Learning, Perception and Attribution

"How can managers use learning, perception and attribution theory to impact their management practices?"

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Billy - South Africa

Good Summary of Attribution Theory

"I was in class on the 02/10/2009 and did not understand what attribution theory mean, but after reading your article, it really made sense to me. The use of simple english words made it easy for me to understand as a none english speaking person. I was able to make examples using my own self behaviour applying the theory. Thank you very much. Am now ready to answer any question in the exam relating the attribution theory."

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Grace - Philippines

Is the Causality of Our Behaviors Certain?

"Can we say that the causality of our behaviors is certain?"

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Glenn - Phillippines

Relationship of Attribution and Self-esteem

"Is there any relationship between attribution style and self-esteem? How?"

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GVV - India

Attribution theory

"As a fresh student who came from an economics background, I feel attribution theory highly confusing"

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Chris - Ghana

What is the Influence of Culture on Attribution?

"How does culture affect the process of attribution in communication?"

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Julien - France

How we explain an outcome...

"The article mentions that there are at least 4 things or reasons that people use to explain an outcome: effort, ability, level of task difficulty and luck. To those main attributional explanations we may add: the situation, ethics, strategy, and perhaps also group pressure. These are also used sometimes by people to explain a success or a failure."

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Lawani 'dapo - Nigeria

Attribution & Criticism

"What does it take to be a constructive critic, development of the 3rd world nations is hampered by their own view of the advanced world. How do we marry the thoery with this global issue. I think towards solving poverty"

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