What is Attribution Theory?
Attribution Theory is an influential theory of social psychology developed by Fritz Heider, Bernard Weiner and Harold Kelley in the 1960s. It explains how people make sense of their social environment by attributing causes to events and behavior. Attribution theory suggests that people tend to attribute behavior to either internal or external factors. Internal factors refer to the person’s own abilities, characteristics, or traits. External factors can include things such as luck, chance, or outside influences.
Types of Attribution Theory
Attribution Theory has two main types: Internal Attribution and External Attribution.
Internal Attribution
Internal attribution is the belief that an individual’s behavior is due to their own characteristics, abilities, and traits. For instance, a person may attribute their success to their intelligence or hard work. Likewise, they may also attribute their failure to their lack of effort or skill.
External Attribution
External attribution is the belief that behavior is due to outside forces or factors. A person may attribute their success to luck or chance. Similarly, they may attribute their failure to factors such as the difficulty of the task, the environment, or outside influences.
Examples of Attribution Theory
Success
Let’s say a student gets an A on their test. According to Internal Attribution Theory, the student may attribute their success to their own hard work and studying. On the other hand, External Attribution Theory suggests that the student may attribute their success to luck or the easy difficulty of the test.
Failure
Now let’s consider a student who gets a D on their test. Internal Attribution Theory suggests that the student may attribute their failure to their own lack of effort or knowledge. Alternatively, according to External Attribution Theory, the student may attribute their failure to the difficulty of the test or outside influences.
Conclusion
Attribution Theory is an important social psychological theory which suggests that people tend to attribute behavior to either internal or external factors. Internal factors refer to the person’s own abilities, characteristics, or traits. External factors can include things such as luck, chance, or outside influences. Examples of Attribution Theory can be seen in everyday life, such as when a person attributes their success or failure to either internal or external factors.