Insocial psychology, attribution means inferring the causes of events or behaviors.
In real life, we attribute behavior every day.
However, when those inferences and explanations are wrong, it can create conflict and lead topoor decisions.
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Why do we make internal attributions for some things while making external attributions for others?
The main types of attributions you may use in daily life include the following.
Predictive Attribution
We also tend to attribute things in ways that allow us to make future predictions.
As a result, you may avoid that parking garage in the future.
Explanatory Attribution
We use explanatory attributions to help us make sense of the world around us.
Some people have anoptimistic explanatory style, while others tend to be morepessimistic.
The following biases and errors can also influence attribution.
This phenomenon tends to be very widespread, particularly amongindividualistic cultures.
When something happens, we are more likely to blame external forces than our personal characteristics.
In psychology, this tendency is known as theactor-observer bias.
How can we explain this tendency?
After all, we know a lot more about ourselves and the situational factors that affect our behavior.
Self-Serving Bias
Think about the last time you received a good grade on an exam.
What happens when you receive a poor grade, though?
Notice that both of these explanations lay the blame on outside forces rather than accepting personal responsibility.
Psychologists refer to this phenomenon as theself-serving bias.
Researchers believe that blaming external factors for failures and disappointments helps protectself-esteem.
Sometimes, our attributions give us valuable information about why people behave the way they do.
However, we also need to remember that errors in attribution are common.
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Gerace A.Internal and external attributions.
In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences.
In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences.
Springer International Publishing; 2020:4809-4810. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1811
