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Unit 10: Emotions and Perception

10.3.2 Attribution Theory Notes

The Figure 10.2 below summarizes the key elements in attribution theory.
Figure 10.2: Attribution Theory

OBSERVATION INTERPRETATION ATTRIBUTION OF CAUSES

HIGH EXTERNAL
DISTINCTIVENESS

LOW INTERNAL

HIGH EXTERNAL

INDIVIDUAL
CONSENSUS
BEHAVIOUR
LOW INTERNAL

HIGH INTERNAL

CONSISTENCY

LOW EXTERNAL

Source: Stephen P Robbins "Organisational Behaviour – Concepts, Controversies and Application"
(7th Edition), Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ07632, page 136.
Attribution theory has been proposed to develop explanations of the ways in which we judge
people differently, depending on what meaning we attribute to a given behaviour. Attribution
is a perceptual process. The way we explain success of failure – whether our own or that of
another person – affects our feelings and our subsequent behaviour. Harold Kelley extended
attribution theory by trying to identify the antecedents of internal and external attributions.
Kelley proposed that individuals make attributions based on information gathered in the form
of three informational cues:

1. Consensus: Consensus is the extent to which peers in the same situation behave the same
way. In other words, if everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the
same way, we can say the behaviour shows consensus. If everybody in the same
circumstance behaves in the same way, you would be given an external attribution, whereas
if a single employee behaves in a particular way, your conclusion would be internal.
2. Distinctiveness: Distinctiveness is the degree to which the person behaves the same way
in other situations. What we want to know is, if this behaviour is unusual or not. If it is, the
observer is likely to give the behaviour an external attribution. If this action is not unusual,
it will probably be judged as internal.

3. Consistency: Consistency refers to the frequency of a particular behaviour over time.
An observer looks for consistency in a person's action. The more consistent the behaviour,
the more the observer is inclined to attribute it to internal causes.
Consensus, distinctiveness and consistency are the cues used to determine whether the cause of
behaviour is internal or external. The process of determinating the cause of behaviour may not
be simple and clear-cut, because of some biases that occur in forming attributions.

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