Attribution Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Attribution Theory - Essay ExampleFor people to interpret the causes of particular behaviour performed by new(prenominal) individuals, it is necessary for them to observe the behaviour, and attribute impertinent or internal causes to it. Any outside body or agent that triggers or causes the event is an external broker while calculates that are within the control of an individual and are a part of his/her personality are the internal factors (Shackleton, 1995).An example of how attribution theory provide be applied in our daily lives could be our reaction to, say, having a good social circle. An individual who is a loner and has no friends to talk to entrust always be found complaining about how the world is so cruel and unjust. This is attributing an external factor to the event. However, a person who is the life of a troupe and is acquainted with a lot of people will be found claiming that it is so because of his being so attractive and smart. As obvious, this case refers to an internal factor or the factor which is within a person.There are many factors which are related to attribution. The determination of the causes depends on three things (Kelly, 1967). Distinctiveness, the first one, tells whether the persons actions are perspicuous and different from other situations. The second is consensus, which tells whether other people behave in the comparable way to the same situation. The third factor is consistency, which finds out whether the individual behaves the same way consistently to the same situation. The theory predicts that whenever in that respect is high distinctiveness, the causes of the behaviour are external and with low distinctiveness, the factors are internal. For consensus, it is an external factor whenever thither is a high consensus and an internal factor when the consensus is low. High consistency indicates an internal factor while low consistency depicts an external factor. In fact, when we apply attribution theory, there are tw o types of shifts which can result in distorted attributions. One is the fundamental attribution error and the other is self-serving bias.(1) Fundamental attribution error It occurs when people overestimate the effects of internal factors while underestimating the effects of external factors when judging the style of others (Martinko, 1995.) It is when the actions of people are attributed to their traits and personality rather than the external crop that may have led them to such an action. (2)Self-serving bias This error, also known as attributional bias, refers to the tendency of individuals to claim responsibility for successes while attributing failures to other causes or factors (Martinko, 1995.) It is just one way of imaging what is pleasing to us rather than the realistic situation. One factor which can be related to this bias is whether there is a reward or punishment proclaimed for certain behavior (Harvey & Smith, 1977). It is suggestd that when we suceed, we tend to ov erestimate the internal factors which could be our talent and effort and underestimate the external factor which could be the help of others. Yet, if we were failed, we would overestimate the external factors which could be lack of collegues co-operation, and underestimate the internal factors such as our laziness. This indicates that people would explain the same behavior to events differently if it occurred differently (. Systematic bias It is a form of self-serving bias and occurs when people generally tend to think that they are better at tasks that are