Attribution Theory PDF

9/16/15
Overview
A"ribu'on Theory

- A)ribu.on is the process by which people interpret
and assign causes for their own and others
behavior (Newstrom & Davis)
- A person seeking to understand why another
person did something may a)ribute one or more
causes to that behavior.
Fritz Heider
- February 1896 January 1988
- Austrian-American psychologist
- Authored The Psychology of
Interpersonal Rela4ons - a
theore.cal masterpiece that laid
the founda.ons for much of
contemporary social psychology
- Pioneered the study of a)ribu.on
Origin
Systema.c
vibra.ons
(sound waves)
Percep.on/
Understanding
Ear drums
(media)
Harold Kelley
Other researchers
- Born 1921; died 2003

- Professor emeritus of Psychology
at UCLA
- Received his B.A. and M.A. degrees
in Psychology from University of
California, Berkeley
- Bernard Weiner
- Edward Jones
- Keith Davis
9/16/15
RATIONALE
Example
To recognize why a certain situa.on happened

so that future events can be an.cipated and
controlled.

Most people state that they are able to explain
or a)ribute the causes of someones or their
behavior or ac.ons

People try to determine what people try to do.

Aggressively
Compe..ve employee
Personality
Situa.onal
Pressures
The process of making and

using a"ribu'ons
Example
Observa'on/
Descrip'on
Non-performer
Task
Diculty
Internally caused
behaviors
(personal a"ribu'ons)
Ability and eort
Those that are believed
to be under the personal
control of the individual
Externally caused
behaviors
(situa'onal a"ribu'ons)
Task diculty and luck
What we imagine the
situa.on forced the
individual to do
A)ribu.on Theory:
Main concepts and deni.ons
Lack of Skills/
Abili.es
Employee
behavior occurs:
Func.onal?
Dysfunc.onal?
Consistency
Understanding
Predic'on/Control
A)ribu.ons are
made to personal
or situa.onal
factors based on:
Consistency
Dis.nc.veness
Consensus
Future behavior is
predicted;
methods to assure
it are
implemented
responding to similar situa.ons in

the same way over .me
Behavior
Stable
(similar
pa)ern)
Unstable
(infrequent
occurrence)
A)ribu.on Theory:
refers to whether an individual

displays dierent behaviors in
dierent situa.ons
Consistency
responding to the similar

situa.ons in the same way over
.me
Dis'nc'veness
refers to whether an individual

displays dierent behaviors in
dierent situa.ons
Consensus
when everyone who faces similar

situa.on responds in the same
manner
A)ribu.on Theory:
Dis'nc'veness
A)ribu.on Theory:
A)ribu.on Theory:
9/16/15
Consensus
based on whether everyone who

faces similar situa.on responds in
the same manner
Example:

The marke.ng manager required all the members of

the Marke.ng Department to submit their reports in
1 week. William, head of the R & D team was able to
provide a complete report in just 3 days.
o Other people are able to submit
High consensus
the required report.
o William seldom submits a report
High dis.nc.veness
ahead of .me.
o William is always able to submit
High consistency
reports on .me.
Example:

The marke.ng manager required all the members of

the Marke.ng Department to submit their reports in
1 week. William, head of the R & D team was able to
provide a complete report in just 3 days.
o Most people hate wri.ng
reports.
Low consensus
o William always volunteers to

write the report for the team
Low dis.nc.veness
o William is always able to submit

High consistency
good reports on .me.
Therefore, Williams performance can be a)ributed to

his good wri.ng skills/abili.es.
A)ribu.on Theory:
A)ribu.on Theory:

the task being easy.
Example:

The marke.ng manager required all the members of the

Marke.ng Dept. to submit their reports in 1 week. To give it
a twist, the manager announced that an incen.ve will be
given to whomever can submit it rst. William, head of the R
& D team was able to provide a complete report in just 3
days.

o Most people hate wri.ng reports.
Low consensus
o William seldom likes wri.ng reports High dis.nc.veness

o This is the rst .me that William
submi)ed a report on .me.
Low consistency

his interest on the incen.ve and not on the task .
Observa.on
Interpreta.on
A)ribu.on of cause
High
Consistency
Low
High
Individual
Behavior
Dis.nc.veness
Low
High
Consensus
Low
External
Internal
External
Internal
External
Internal
Self-Serving Bias
Own successes

Failure
A)ribu.on Theory:
A)ribu.on Theory:
9/16/15
High Consistency
Personal/
Internal
A)ribu.ons
Low Dis.nc.veness
Low Consensus
Low Consistency
Situa.onal/
External
A)ribu.ons
High Dis.nc.veness
Low Consensus
Fundamental A"ribu'on Error

tendency to underes.mate the inuence of
external factors and overes.mate the inuence
of internal factors or personal factors while
judging the behavior of other people
Internal factors such as ability

or eort

External factors such as bad
luck or unproduc.ve workers
Limita'ons
Perceived
by:
Level of
Performance
Probable A)ribu.on
Success
Internal / Personal
(high ability, strong eort
(Judging Self)
Failure
External / Situa.onal
(hard task, bad luck)
Fundamental
A"ribu'on
Error
Success
External / Situa.onal
(easy task, good luck)
Failure
Internal / Personal
(low ability, poor eort)
Self-Serving
Bias
(Judging Others)
Employee
Manager
Other limita'ons and Cri'cisms
Theory can be used for people to blame others and

avoid personal convic.ons. People always a)empt to
preserve self-image.
The theory is self-limi.ng as it doesnt account for

social, cultural and historical factors that play in our
a)ribu.on of cause.

9/16/15
Applica'ons
1. Giving appropriate reasons for success or failure.

a. A)ribute success to internal factors in order to
maximize condence and sa.sfac.on
b. A)ribute success to stable factors in order to
maximize expecta.on of future success
c. A)ribute failure to external factors in order to
minimize nega.ve feelings
d. A)ribute failure to unstable factors in order to
minimize expecta.ons of future losses

Applica'ons
2. Knowledge of employees a)ribu.on processes can help
managers correct faulty a)ribu.ons, leading to op.mis.c
expectancies and posi.ve emo.ons

3. Knowledge of a)ribu.on processes can be helpful in

recognizing, managing and counseling poten.ally
aggressive employees, en.tled employees and those
employees who are likely to engage in counterproduc.ve
organiza.onal behaviors.

4. Knowledge of a)ribu.ons and a)ribu.on styles and

feedback can also aid in training, coaching and
development of produc.ve employees.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Newstrom, Davis. 2002. Organiza.onal Behavior: Human Behavior at Work (11th ed). McGraw-Hill
Companies Inc.
Robbins SP, TA Judge. 2013. Organiza.onal Behavior, Interna.onal Edi.on, Pearson Educa.on Asia Pte.
Ltd.
h)ps://books.google.com.ph/books?id=_J1rdq_lKH8C&pg=PR7&lpg=PR7&dq=a)ribu.on+theory
+applica.ons+to+management&source=bl&ots=DYNCm16x-
s&sig=eZ011jiC5VBP7aK3mChQM0aCbJg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAmoVChMInPTR9tDSxwIVDXGO
Ch1xIAOb#v=onepage&q=a)ribu.on%20theory%20applica.ons%20to%20management&f=false
h)ps://books.google.com.ph/books?id=4wtzAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=a)ribu.on+theory
+applica.ons+to
+management&source=bl&ots=6zitkM3_pd&sig=eJtzU5DiYpOKP647zEsJIGK4saY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CF4
Q6AEwCWoVChMInPTR9tDSxwIVDXGOCh1xIAOb#v=onepage&q=a)ribu.on%20theory%20applica.ons
%20to%20management&f=false
+applica.ons+to
+applica.ons+to
h)p://www.leadership-central.com/a)ribu.on-theory.html
h)p://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/overview-background-and-history-of-a)ribu.on-theory-
psychology-essay.phph)p://www.12manage.com/methods_heider_a)ribu.on_theory.html

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9/16/15

- Born 1921; died 2003

To recognize why a certain situa.on happened

The process of making and

responding to similar situa.ons in

refers to whether an individual

responding to the similar

refers to whether an individual

when everyone who faces similar

based on whether everyone who

The marke.ng manager required all the members of

The marke.ng manager required all the members of

o William always volunteers to

o William is always able to submit

Therefore, Williams performance can be a)ributed to

Therefore, Williams performance can be a)ributed to

The marke.ng manager required all the members of the

o Most people hate wri.ng reports.

o William seldom likes wri.ng reports High dis.nc.veness

Therefore, Williams performance can be a)ributed to

Fundamental A"ribu'on Error

Internal factors such as ability

Other limita'ons and Cri'cisms

Theory can be used for people to blame others and

The theory is self-limi.ng as it doesnt account for

3. Knowledge of a)ribu.on processes can be helpful in

4. Knowledge of a)ribu.ons and a)ribu.on styles and

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