Attribution Theory

A theory used to develop

explanations of how we judge
people differently depending
on the meaning we attribute
to a given behavior.
 Attribution Theory
Basically, the theory suggests that when
we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt
to determine whether it was internally or
externally caused.
Internally caused behaviors are those that
are believed to be under the personal control of
the individual.
Externally caused behavior results from
outside factors; that is, the person is forced into
the behavior by the situation.
That determination, however, depends on three
factors: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.
 Distinctiveness
Refers to whether an individual displays a
behavior in many situations or whether it’s
particular to one situation.
Ex: Is the employee who arrived late today the
same person that some employees are
complaining?
What we want to know is whether this
behavior is unusual. If it’s unusual, the
observer is likely to attribute the behavior to
external forces. However, if the action isn’t
unusual, it will probably be judged as internal.
 Consensus
This refers to the behavior of many
people responding the same way when faced
to a similar event or situation.
Ex: A tardy employee’s behavior would meet
this criterion if all employees who took the
same route to work were also late.
From an attribution perspective, if consensus is
high you are likely to give an external
attribution to the employee’s tardiness; but if
other employees who took the same route
made it to work on time, you would conclude
that the cause was internal.
 Consistency
This refers to the person’s response the
same way over time.
Ex: Does the person engage in the behavior
regularly or consistently? Coming in 10
minutes late for work isn’t perceived in the
same way if, for one employee it represents an
unusual case (she hasn’t been late in months),
while for another it’s part of a routine pattern
(she’s late two or three times every week).
The more consistent the behavior, the
more the observer is inclined to attribute it to
internal causes.
 Attribution Theory
High External
Distinctiveness
Low Internal

High External
Individual
Behavior Consensus
Low Internal

High Internal
Consistency

Low External

Observation Attribution
Interpretation
Cause
 Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to
underestimate the influence of
external factors and
overestimate the influence of
internal factors when making
judgments about the behavior
of others.
Shortcuts Frequently Used
in Judging Others
 Self-serving bias

The tendency for

individuals to attribute their
own successes to internal
factors while putting the
blame for failures on
external factors.
 Selectivity
The process by which
people assimilate certain
bits and pieces of what
they observe, depending
on their interests,
background and attitudes.
 Assumed similarity

The belief that

others are like
oneself.
 Stereotyping
Judging a person on
the basis of one’s
perception of a group to
which he or she
belongs.
 Halo effect

A general
impression of an
individual based on a
single characteristic.
 Implications for Managers
Managers need to recognize that
their employees react to perceptions,
not to reality. So whether a
manager’s appraisal of an employee
is actually objective and unbiased or
whether the organization’s wage
levels are actually among the highest
in the industry is less relevant than
what employees perceive them to be.
 If individuals perceive
appraisals to be biased or wage
levels as low, they’ll behave as if
those conditions actually exist.
Employees organize and
interpret what they see, so there
is always the potential for
perceptual distortion.
 The message to
managers should be clear:
Pay close attention to how
employees perceive both
their jobs and management
practices.
 Remember, the valuable
employee who quits because
of an inaccurate perception is
just as great a loss to an
organization as the valuable
employee who quits for a valid
reason.