Attribution theory (as one part of the larger and more complex Heiderian account of social perception) describes how people come to explain (make attributions about) the behavior of others and themselves. Behavior is attributed to a disposition (e.g., personality traits, motives, attitudes), or behavior can be attributed to situations (e.g., external pressures, social norms, peer pressure, accidents of the environment, acts of God, random chance, etc.) Heider first made the argument that people tend to overweight internal, dispositional causes over external causes—this later became known as the fundamental attribution error (Ross, 1977) or correspondence bias (Fiske & Taylor, 1991; Jones, 1979, 1990).
Attribution is a three-step process through which we perceive others as causal
agents. Suppose you are stopped at a red light, and the driver in the car ahead
flips an empty soda can into the gutter. Before the light turns green, you
mutter the three thoughts that cross your mind:
I saw that! (Perception of the action)
You meant to do that! (Judgment of intention)
You’re a slob! (Attribution of disposition)
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