2. ATTRIBUTION THEORY
Our perceptions of people differ from our perceptions of inanimate
objects.
Our perception and judgment of a person’s actions are influenced
by these assumptions.
Attribution theory suggests that when we observe an individual’s
behaviour, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or
externally caused.
Theory that states that we all have a basic need to understand and
explain the causes of other people's behaviour
Jismy James, M.A.M
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3. DEFINATION
People make sense of their surroundings on the basis of what they
consider is the cause and what is the effect of a phenomenon.
It suggests that individuals observe their own behavior or
experience, try to figure out what caused it, and then (whether or
not their conclusion is in fact correct) shape their future behavior
accordingly.
for example, If a consumer has had bad experience with a locally-
made product (and good experience with an imported one) he or
she may conclude that the bad product is bad because it is
locally made.
4. The purpose behind making attributions is to achieve COGNITIVE
CONTROL over one's environment by explaining and
understanding the causes behind behaviors and environmental
occurrences.
Making attributions gives order and predictability to our lives;
helps us to cope. Imagine what it would be like if you felt that you
had no control over the world. (talk about later)
When you make attributions you analyze the situation by making
inferences (going beyond the information given) about the
dispositions of others and yourself as well as inferences about the
environment and how it may be causing a person to behave.
6. INTERNAL and EXTERNAL
Attribution theory proposes that the attributions people make
about events and behavior can be classed as either internal or
external.
INTERNAL - dispositional
EXTERNAL - situational
7. Internal vs. External
In an internal, or dispositional, attribution, people infer that an
event or a person’s behavior is due to personal factors such as
traits, abilities, or feelings.
In an external, or situational, attribution, people infer that a
person’s behavior is due to situational factors.
Example: Maria’s car breaks down on the freeway. If she believes
the breakdown happened because of her ignorance about cars,
she is making an internal attribution. If she believes that the
breakdown happened because her car is old, she is making an
external attribution.
8. Stable vs. Unstable
Researchers also distinguish between stable and unstable
attributions.
When people make a stable attribution, they infer that an event
or behavior is due to stable, unchanging factors.
When making an unstable attribution, they infer that an event or
behavior is due to unstable, temporary factors.
Example: Lee gets a D on his sociology term paper.
If he attributes the grade to the fact that he always has bad luck,
he is making a stable attribution.
If he attributes the grade to the fact that he didn’t have much
time to study that week, he is making an unstable attribution.
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10. ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE
Optimistic: negative events are explained in terms of external,
unstable and specific causes ; and positive events to internal,
stable, global causes.
Pessimistic: negative events explained in terms of internal, stable,
and global terms (I’m a bad person); positive events in terms of
external, unstable, and specific causes
Individual differences in attributional style may lead to depression;
health factors (immune system and stress - 99 veterans of W.W.II
responses on a questionnaire about their wartime experiences
(1946); explanatory style predicted health after age 45; more
health problems with those who had a more pessimistic
explanatory style. Baseball players with a pessimistic style died
earlier than optimistic players.
11. PERCEPTION
Perception is a process by which individuals organize
and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment.
Jismy James, M.A.M
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14. ROLE PERCEPTION
One’s view of how one is supposed to act in a given situation is a role
perception.
We get these perceptions from stimuli all around us—friends, books,
movies, television.
The primary reason that apprenticeship programs exist is to allow
beginners to watch an ―expert,‖ so that they can learn to act as they are
supposed to.
Jismy James, M.A.M
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15. PERFORMANCE
Among the most prominent properties related to group performance are
role perception, norms, status differences, size of the group, and
cohesiveness.
Role perception and an employee’s performance evaluation are
positively related.
Jismy James, M.A.M
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16. SATISFACTION
High congruence between a boss’s and an employee’s perception of the
employee’s job correlates strongly with high employee satisfaction.
Jismy James, M.A.M
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17. SELECTIVE PERCEPTION
Receivers in their communication process selectively see and hear based
on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal
characteristics.
Receivers project their interests and expectations into communications as
they decode them.
Jismy James, M.A.M
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