Attribution

Self-Attributions

Self-attributions can be classified according to three dimensions: internality, stability, and globality. Internality is present when an outcome is an attribute of the self (e.g., ability, effort) rather than outside the self (e.g., difficulty of task, other people). Stability is present when an outcome is consistently present (e.g., an immutable personality trait) rather than temporary (e.g., effort). Globality is present when an outcome is cross-situational (i.e., occurs on many situations) rather than situation specific (i.e., occurs only in the target situation). Attributing negative or failure outcomes to internal, stable, and global causes (e.g., one's own personality) is referred to as a depressive or pessimistic attributional style.

Because the underlying attributions suggest the cause will be present in a multitude of situations in the future, individuals will experience feelings of helplessness, lowered self-esteem, and expectations that future failures are likely to reoccur. In contrast, attributing negative outcomes to internal, unstable, and specific causes (e.g., lack of effort) suggests that one's behavior can be altered to eliminate or reduce [Page 62]the negative outcome (e.g., if one just works harder). Conversely, attributing positive outcomes to internal, stable, and global causes (e.g., one's own personality) is referred to as an optimistic or stress-buffering attributional style. This attributional style (also referred to as having “positive illusions”) is generally associated with heightened self-esteem and expectations that successful outcomes are likely to reoccur in the future.

Cross-cultural differences in attributional styles are explained by a cultural emphasis on individualism versus collectivism. Because individuals in Western cultures focus on the person as the source of negative and positive outcomes, one would expect these individuals to make more dispositional than situational attributions for their own behavior. Because individuals in Eastern cultures focus on the individual as rooted in the social environment, one would expect these individuals to make more situational than dispositional attributions for their own behavior. Research has shown that a self serving attributional bias is relatively universal, though it is weaker in Eastern cultures.

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