Attribution Theory
An area of cognitive therapy that is concerned with how people explain the causes of behavior, both their own and those of others.
A major concept in the study of attribution theory is locus of control: whether one interprets events as being caused by one's own behavior or by outside circumstances. A child with an internal locus of control (also called "an internal") will believe that her performance on a test is governed by her ability or by how hard she studied, whereas an "external" will attribute success or failure by concluding that the test was easy or hard, the teacher graded fairly or unfairly, the room in which the test was administered was too quiet or noisy, or some other rationale. In general, an internal locus of control is associated with optimism and physical health. Children with an internal locus of control also tend to be more successful at delaying gratification in middle childhood than children with an external locus of control, who are less likely to believe that their demonstration of self-control in the present has the ability to influence events in the future. {See Delay of Gratification)
Internal or external attribution is also made with respect to other people (i.e., is another person personally responsible for a certain event, or is it caused by something beyond his or her control?). We make this sort of attribution when we decide whether to blame a friend for failing to pay back a loan. If we blame it on her personal qualities, the attribution is internal. If we blame it on a problem she is having, then the attribution is external. Three factors influence whether the behavior of others is attributed to internal or external causes: consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness. Consensus refers to whether other people exhibit similar behavior; consistency refers to whether the behavior occurs repeatedly; and distinctiveness is concerned with whether the behavior occurs in other, similar, situations. For example, if a friend consistently fails to repay a loan, an internal attribution may be ascribed.
For Further Study
Books
Douglas, Tom. Scapegoats: Transferring Blame. New York: Routledge, 1995.
Hewstone, Miles, ed. Attribution Theory: Social and Functional Extensions. Oxford, England: B. Blackwell, 1983.
Lamb, Sharon. The Trouble with Blame: Victims, Perpetrators, and Responsibility. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996.
McLaughlin, Mary L., Michael J. Cody, and Stephen Reed, eds. Explaining Oneself to Others: Reason-Giving in a Social Context. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc, 1992.
Yussen, Steven R., ed. The Growth of Reflection in Children. Oxford, England: Academic Press, 1985.
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