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Attributions definitions

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  • Attribution
    Explanation assigned to behaviors or events, often distinguishing between internal dispositions and external situations.
  • Internal Attribution
    Assumption that behavior is caused by personal traits, motives, or intentions rather than outside influences.
  • External Attribution
    Belief that behavior results from situational factors, such as environment or circumstances, not personal qualities.
  • Fundamental Attribution Error
    Tendency to overemphasize personal factors and underestimate situational influences when judging others’ actions.
  • Self-Serving Bias
    Pattern of attributing successes to personal factors and failures to external circumstances to protect self-esteem.
  • Situational Factor
    Element in the environment or context that can influence an individual's behavior or response.
  • Dispositional Factor
    Enduring characteristic or trait within a person that is believed to drive consistent behavior.
  • Actor-Observer Bias
    Tendency to attribute one’s own actions to external causes while assigning others’ actions to internal traits.
  • Consensus
    Degree to which other people behave similarly in the same situation, used to assess the cause of behavior.
  • Consistency
    Extent to which a person behaves the same way across time and situations, informing attribution decisions.
  • Distinctiveness
    Measure of how uniquely a person behaves in a particular situation compared to other contexts.
  • Defensive Attribution
    Cognitive process aimed at avoiding feelings of vulnerability by assigning blame to protect oneself.
  • Just-World Hypothesis
    Belief that people get what they deserve, leading to attributions that reinforce fairness in outcomes.