Attribution Biases

Attribution Theory

Following the pioneering work of Fritz Heider, Harold Kelley developed a theory of causal attribution based on a scientific analysis of how people should explain, or attribute, their own or others' behavior by using the available information in a systematic manner. Heider and Kelley investigated the locus of causality, whether behavior is caused by something internal or external to the actor (the person performing the behavior). Later work, by Bernard Weiner, identified three further causal dimensions in terms of which attributions can be classified: stability, the extent to which causes are stable and permanent versus temporary and fluctuating; controllability, the extent to which causes can be influenced by the actor; and globality, whether a cause is global in nature or specific to a given situation.

Of most relevance to the issue of intergroup attribution biases is locus of causality. An internal attribution is any explanation that locates the cause as being internal to the person, such as personality, mood, abilities, attitudes, and effort. An external attribution is any explanation that locates the cause as being external to the person, such as the actions of others, the nature of the situation, social pressures, or luck. Thus, if people see a mother shouting at her child and decides that she is doing this because she is an aggressive person, they are making an internal attribution. In contrast, if they decide that she was reprimanding the child for behaving badly, they are making an external attribution.

Individual Attribution Biases

Kelley's model is a rather idealized account of how people make causality judgments. Given that we normally have limited time and resources, we have a tendency to use heuristics, or shortcuts, when making social judgments, rather than taking into account all of the available information. As a result, researchers have observed a number of systematic biases that are made when people are assessing the causes of behavior.

There are three well-documented attribution biases. The correspondence bias refers to the fact that behavior is often viewed as a reflection of an actor's corresponding internal disposition even when it was actually caused by situational factors. The actor–observer bias arises when we attribute other people's behavior to internal causes and our own behavior to external causes. Both of these effects can be explained by perceptual salience. [Page 43]The people being observed are the most salient aspect of the situation, as they are actually performing the action—they and their behavior appear to go together, so an internal attribution is made. In contrast, when making self-attributions, we are focused outward and the situation is salient, and thus we attribute causality for our behavior to external factors.

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