What principles do theories of attribution suggest that people employ in explaining everyday social behaviour and events
Topic Issues:
People are motivated to not only describe human (other people’s as well as their own) behaviour but to understand why they behaved the way they did. This helps in making predictions about future behaviour.
Consider the major theories of attribution, such as:
• Heider: Naive psychology of the layperson.
• Jones & Davis: Correspondent inference.
• Kelley: Covariation & configuration.
Compare the major theories by answering the following questions:
• How do these theories account for everyday social behaviour and events?
• How do the theories differ?
• What do these theories fail to account for?
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Referencing Requirements:
Hewstone, M. (1989). Causal attribution: From cognitive processes to collective beliefs. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Chapter 2: Classic theories of causal attribution (pp. 11-29)
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Hogg, M. & Vaughan, G. (2008). Social Psychology. Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Gilbert, D. T., & Malone, P. S. (1995). The correspondence bias. Psychological
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Jones, E. E. (1979). The rocky road from acts to dispositions. American
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Kelley, H. H., & Michela. J. L. (1980). Attribution theory and research. Annual Review
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Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion.
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