Question

Briefly describe the informational cues based on which attributions are made.

Answer 1

1. Kelley: processes of multiple causal attribution:

The most significant contributions to attribution theory in recent years have been made by Kelley (1967). Kelley’s central theme is that causal attribution is generally a complex process that takes into account the joint influence of multiple causes to produce a given effect. Kelley has developed two sets of concepts – covariation concepts and configuration concepts.

The covariation model of attribution: it applies to situations in which the attributor has information from multiple observations with which to make an inference. Kelley suggests that a number of questions must be considered before we can formulate a causal attribution. The answer to these questions tells us to which factors we should attribute our success or failures.

a). Distinctiveness: one question is about the distinctiveness of our experience. Is our success or failure unique to this setting or has it occurred in many situations? According to Kelley, we are more likely to attribute an experience to an external factor if we believe that it is unique than if we believe that it has happened in many settings.

b). Consensus: we also ask about the experiences of others: have others had a similar experience, or are we alone in succeeding at a certain task? Kelley suggests that we are more likely to attribute an experience to an external factor if we believe that others have also succeeded at this task than if we know that we are alone in the experience.

c). Consistency: we also ask whether or not we typically succeed or fail in similar settings. Information about consistency allows us to determine the stability of factors to which we attribute our experiences.

     Taking into account information about consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness, allows people to attribute a certain behavior either to dispositional factors or to situational factors. When consensus and distinctiveness are low and consistency is high, people tend to make dispositional attributions. When consensus, consistency and distinctiveness are all high, people tend to make attributions to external, situational factors.