Advanced COI - Part 2
Advanced COI - Part 2
Advanced COI - Part 2
Book 2
Table of Contents
BOOK 2: ATTRIBUTIONS ......................................................................................................................... 3
The Role of Attribution in Peoples Lives ................................................................................................ 3
Kinds of Attribution .................................................................................................................................. 6
The How and Why of Attribution ............................................................................................................. 9
Self-Serving Attributions ........................................................................................................................ 22
The Importance of Social Representations ............................................................................................. 30
BOOK 2: ATTRIBUTIONS
The Role of Attribution in Peoples Lives
Imagine going to work one day feeling
extremely happy because you got some good
news. Naturally, you want to spread the good
cheer to your office mates, so you make eye
contact with an office mate that you rarely talk
to and smile to him.
You wave your hand a little to say hi to the
person. In return, your officemate literally slams
down his hands and storms out of the office,
leaving papers and pens scattered in his cubicle.
Your office mate is visibly upset by something.
Was it you who did that? What could have
triggered such behavior from your office mate?
As you think of the reasons why a person would
behave in such a manner, you are actually
Kinds of Attribution
There are two general categories of human
attribution: internal attribution and external
attribution. When people try to make sense of
an event, they can either attribute the event to
internal traits and characteristics or they can
attribute it to external forces and circumstances.
Heres an example: imagine that you were
walking in a quiet street when all of a sudden, a
car screeches out of control and parks itself on
the sidewalk. All its lights are flashing but it
didnt hit the small store that was standing a few
inches from its bumpers. You observe how the
driver nonchalantly backs up his car and drives
away after the frightening display. You try to
figure out what just happened and you come up
with these causes:
Internal attributions:
Maybe the driver is just plain crazy!
The driver has to be drunk to do that kind of
stunt.
The guy has to be in a really bad mood.
Maybe he the guy is just learning how to
drive.
That guy doesnt know how to park properly!
External attributions:
Maybe he got spooked by a big truck
somewhere.
The guys brakes got jammed, probably.
The car is old, maybe thats why he cant
control it well.
Maybe this just wasnt a good day for him.
with unique
or behavior
a person can
non-common
Events that have unique consequences or noncommon effects are most likely caused by
Degree
Consensus
High
consensus
Type
of
Attribution
Situational
Example:
Everyone
is
driving
strangely.
Low consensus Dispositional
Example:
Consistency
Only Person A
is
driving
strangely.
High
Dispositional
consistency
Example:
Person
A
drives
strangely all
the time.
Low
Situational
consistency
Example:
Person
A
drove strangely
today.
Distinctiveness High
Situational
distinctiveness
Example:
Person
A
drove strangely
on Monday.
Low
Dispositional
18
distinctiveness
Example:
Person A has
always driven
strangely
around
the
city.
20
Self-Serving Attributions
When we hear self-serving we usually think
of something negative or selfish; Im here to tell
you today that in the context of attribution, the
word self-serving actually has a more positive
connotation.
You see, when people analyze situations, they
do it without referring to themselves. For
example, if a person was driving down a quiet
street and a guy in a motorcycle suddenly
appeared from nowhere and nearly hit the
persons car, the person in the drivers seat
would probably think that the motorcycle driver
didnt have any road manners and didnt have
any knowledge of road safety at all.
But if you look at it from a broader perspective,
the person in the car probably has had his share
of bad driving over the years. If the driver had
thought the motorcycle driver was incompetent,
would he also attribute his own bad driving in
Other
people'
s
behavi
or
Your
negativ
e
behavi
or
and/or
failures
Ordinary
process
of
attributi
on
Internal
attributio
n or
external
attributio
n
Selfserving
attributi
on
Externa
l
attributi
on
Your
positiv
e
behavi
or
and/or
succes
s
Selfserving
attributi
on
Externa
l
attributi
on