Attribution theory in psychology explains how people attribute causes to actions and events. There are two types of explanations: internal and external. People are inconsistent when applying attributions and tend to take credit for success and avoid blame for failure. Attribution theory can influence social interactions and is important in challenging prejudices and understanding workplace dynamics.
Attribution theory is a concept in psychology. As part of an attempt to understand the world and exercise control, people usually try to attribute causes to actions and events, believing that everything has an explanation, if one digs far enough. How attributions take place can be very revealing, as, perhaps not surprisingly, people have different standards when it comes to attribution. Enforcement of these standards can fuel prejudice, power imbalances and similar social issues.
In attribution theory, there are two possible explanations for an event or action. One is internal, also known as intrinsic; the explanation comes from the fact that someone or something is motivated by internal forces. For example, when someone says “don’t worry about Sally, that’s right,” they are illustrating internal attribution. Conversely, when situational, environmental, or extrinsic factors are believed to be the cause of something, someone exercises external attribution. In an example, you might say, “John would have received the report in time, but the server crashed.”
An interesting thing to note about this theory is that people are inconsistent when applying attributions. When someone makes a mistake, he will tend to blame the mistake on external factors. When someone identifies a mistake someone else made, internal factors are often blamed. This allows people to shift the responsibility for personal blame onto external factors, while still holding people personally accountable for the mistakes they have made.
When someone is successful, this is often attributed to internal factors such as skill or expertise. When the tables are turned and success is recognized in someone else, people are more likely to suggest that external factors such as luck were responsible. These trends illustrate that people like to take credit for success and avoid blame where they can.
Social interactions can also be influenced by attribution theory. People will often use this theory to claim reflected glory, like when sports fans say, “we won,” even though they weren’t on the team. Conversely, attributions can be used to distance oneself from failure; it can be “have lost” when one’s team loses.
Understanding attribution theory can be important when challenging your own prejudices or when trying to understand the dynamics of a group. Knowing that people will claim personal responsibility for success and blame others for failure can be especially important in the workplace, where people use attribution theory as they battle for promotions, recognition, and good reputations.
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