Errors in attribution can lead to misunderstandings of people’s behaviors.

If you receive a low grade on a quiz, you might attribute it to the teacher’s explanation, rather than considering your own study efforts. Similarly, when a classmate excels in the same exam, you might attribute it to luck rather than acknowledging their hard work in preparation.

These evaluations exemplify the concept of attribution in social psychology, which involves explaining our behaviors and those of others.

In social psychology, attribution refers to deducing the causes of behaviors or events. In daily life, we make attributions regularly, often without recognizing the underlying processes and biases that can result in attribution errors.

Continue reading to discover more about how attributions, and potential mistakes in attribution, impact emotions, relationships, and decision-making.

Examples of Attributions (and Errors)

People often make attributions about their behavior and that of others on a daily basis. For instance, one may assume that a friend did not reply to a text because they are upset, or that a new colleague is unfriendly because they do not engage in small talk.

However, when these assumptions and interpretations are incorrect, they can lead to misunderstandings and result in poor decision-making. Your friend may not have responded due to being occupied, and your co-worker might come across as reserved because of shyness or social anxiety.

Types and Examples of Attribution

One may observe variations in the attributions we make when explaining our own behavior compared to that of others. The tendency to attribute internally for some actions and externally for others raises questions about the underlying reasons.

Our choice of attribution in a given scenario is influenced by several factors, including cognitive biases that contribute significantly to the process.

The primary types of attributions commonly encountered in everyday situations are as follows:

Interpersonal Attribution

Interpersonal attribution refers to how we interpret events involving multiple people. We acknowledge that each person has their own perspective, but often, we tend to shape the narrative in a way that portrays us positively.

For instance, when recounting a story to a group of friends, we might present it in a light that highlights our virtues. In situations where two friends are arguing, we may position ourselves as the peacemaker trying to resolve the conflict.

Predictive Attribution

People have a tendency to attribute events in a manner that helps them predict future outcomes. For instance, if someone’s car is vandalized, they may attribute the incident to parking in a specific garage. This attribution can lead them to avoid that garage in the future as a precautionary measure.

Explanatory Attribution

Explanatory attributions are used to help individuals understand and interpret the world around them. Some individuals exhibit an optimistic explanatory style, while others may lean towards a more pessimistic outlook.

Individuals with an optimistic style tend to attribute positive events to stable, internal, and global causes, while negative events are attributed to unstable, external, and specific causes. On the other hand, individuals with a pessimistic style tend to attribute negative events to internal, stable, and global causes while attributing positive events to external, stable, and specific causes.

Major Concepts in Attribution Theory

Psychologists have proposed various theories to enhance our comprehension of the attribution process.

Correspondent Inference Theory

In the mid-1960s, researchers proposed that our judgments about others are based on whether their actions are intentional or unintentional. When observing someone’s behavior, we try to match their motives with their actions.

Our inferences are influenced by factors such as the level of control the person has, how expected their actions are, and the consequences of their behavior.

Heider’s Theory of ‘Common Sense’

Psychologist Fritz Heider proposed that individuals engage in the process of observing others, analyzing their behavior, and formulating their own common-sense interpretations of why they act the way they do. Heider categorized these interpretations into two main types: external attributions and internal attributions.

Influential Biases and Errors in Attribution

Despite our belief in having sound judgment, we frequently err in our assessments. Certain biases and errors are common among all of us, impacting how we interpret behavior and the decisions we derive from those interpretations.

These biases and errors have a significant effect on attribution.

The Fundamental Attribution Error

When considering other individuals, there is a tendency to attribute causes to internal factors like personality traits while downplaying external factors. This behavior is prevalent, especially in individualistic cultures.

Psychologists term this tendency the fundamental attribution error, where individuals automatically assign causes to internal traits despite the presence of situational factors.

The fundamental attribution error helps explain why people often hold others accountable for events beyond their control. Social psychologists use the term “blaming the victim” to describe how individuals unfairly blame innocent victims of crimes for their misfortunes.

In such instances, people may fault victims for not safeguarding themselves by behaving differently or not taking specific precautions to prevent the event.

Understanding Victim Blaming

One example of victim blaming is when survivors of rape, domestic violence, or kidnapping are accused of somehow provoking their attackers. Researchers from The Enlightened Mind suggest that hindsight bias plays a role in this phenomenon, leading people to believe that victims should have been able to foresee the events and prevent them.

The Actor-Observer Bias

Interestingly, individuals tend to have a different bias when explaining their own behavior compared to attributing the behavior of others. This phenomenon is known as the actor-observer bias, where individuals are more inclined to attribute external factors rather than personal characteristics to their own actions.

One plausible explanation for this bias is the disparity in information available to individuals about their own situations versus others. As individuals have more knowledge about their own circumstances and the situational influences on their behavior, they are more likely to consider these factors when explaining their actions.

When it comes to interpreting the behavior of others, individuals rely mainly on observable information, which puts them at a disadvantage in understanding the full context.

Interestingly, individuals are less susceptible to the actor-observer bias when it comes to people they know well. This is because familiarity with the personality and behaviors of close acquaintances enables individuals to consider their perspective more effectively and acknowledge potential situational factors influencing their actions.

Self-Serving Bias

Recall the last time you did well on an exam. You probably credited your success to internal factors, such as intelligence or preparation.

However, when faced with a poor grade, people tend to blame external factors like tricky questions or distractions rather than taking personal responsibility.

This tendency to attribute success to oneself and failure to outside factors is known as the self-serving bias. Researchers suggest that blaming external forces for failures helps protect self-esteem.

Key Points to Remember

Understanding the significance of attributions in our daily lives can offer valuable insights into both others’ behaviors and our own. These attributions can provide essential information about the reasons behind people’s actions.

It is crucial to acknowledge that errors in attributions are prevalent. Being mindful of how we interpret behavior enables us to recognize these errors and enhance the accuracy of our assumptions about behaviors.