Lecture Notes: Understanding Human Behavior through Attribution Theory

Introduction to Psychology and Human Behavior

• Humans are naturally fascinated by psychology and the understanding of human behavior.
• Everyone attempts to explain behaviors of others (friends, families, colleagues, strangers) without realizing it.
• Examples:
  • Analyzing friends' partners.
  • Assumptions about strangers' actions.
• Humans are meaning-making creatures.

Attribution Theory

• Attribution theory explores how people explain behavior and the errors in these explanations.
• Key Contributor: Fritz Heider, a Gestalt psychologist.
  • Introduced dispositional and situational attributions.

Types of Attribution

• Dispositional Attribution (Internal):
  • Behavior is driven by internal factors (e.g., emotional stability).
• Situational Attribution (External):
  • Behavior is driven by external factors (e.g., traumatic events).

Actor-Observer Bias

• People may use different types of attribution based on whether they are observing or performing a behavior.

Correspondent Inference Theory

• Developed by Jones and Davis.
• Focuses on dispositional attribution.
• Factors leading to internal attribution:
  • Intentional Actions: When someone acts freely and intentionally.
  • Unusual Behavior: When behavior is out of the ordinary.
  • Directed Behavior: When behavior is directed at someone.
  • Impactful Behavior: When behavior significantly harms or helps another person.
• Example: Street harassment as character-driven behavior.

Kelly's Covariation Model

• Creator: Harold Kelly (1973).
• Focuses on internal vs. external attribution through three factors:
  • Consensus:
    • How others behave in the same situation.
    • High consensus if everyone acts similarly.
  • Distinctiveness:
    • How a person behaves across different situations.
    • High distinctiveness if behavior is unique to the situation.
  • Consistency:
    • How a person behaves consistently over time in the same situation.
    • High consistency if behavior repeats over time.
• Decision Making:
  • Low scores in all three suggest internal attribution (personality-driven).
  • High scores suggest external attribution (situationally-driven).
• Limitation: Difficult to apply to strangers.

Conclusion

• Understanding attribution aids in understanding judgment and behavior assignment.
• Review of attribution theory, correspondent inference theory, and Kelly's covariation model.
• Encouragement to further explore social psychology series for more insights.

Additional Resources

• Suggestions to watch more videos in the social psychology series for deeper understanding.
• Invitation for questions and further discussion.