Causal Attributions and Social Judgments

Introduction

• Why Questions:
  • Common in everyday life to form understanding of self and others.
  • Deliberate or automatic, depending on the situation.
  • Leads to causal attributions: judgments about causes of outcomes or behaviors.

What Are Causal Attributions?

• Definition: Creation of a causal inference about behaviors (Howard, 1995).
• Importance: Needed to understand and predict behaviors of others and self.
• Response to Events:
  • Negative events prompt more deliberate causal searches.
  • Positive events often result in less cognitive effort due to expected outcomes.

Internal vs. External Attributions

• Internal/Dispositional: Cause is internal to the actor (personality or traits).
• External/Situational: Cause is external or environmental.
• Bias: Tendency to favor internal attributions (dispositionalists by nature).

Dispositionalists by Nature

• Lewin’s Equation: Situation + Disposition = Behavior (S + D = B).
• Attribution Process (Gilbert, Pelham, Krull, 1988):
  1. Categorization: Observe behavior.
  2. Characterization: Decide on internal attribution.
  3. Correction: Adjust for situational factors (often inadequately).
• Example: Movie "Wreck-It Ralph" illustrates tendency to see behavior as disposition.

Cognitive Expenditure and its Worth

• Attribution Process: Flexible based on ego-relevance.
• Dual-Process Distinction:
  • Quick, automatic inferences for low relevance.
  • Deliberate, thorough for high stakes situations.

Classic Theories of Attribution

Heider’s Theory of Naïve Psychology

• Internal vs. External Causes: Basis of understanding behavior.
• Normative Approach: Logical and systematic (errors are exceptions).

Jones and Davis’s Correspondent Inference Theory

• Dispositional Information: Diagnostic of future behavior.
• Intentionality: Central to inferring disposition.
• Non-Common Effects Analysis: Determine unique consequences.

Kelley’s Covariation Model

• Consensus, Consistency, Distinctiveness: Dimensions for attribution creation.
• Normative Approach: High cognitive demand; use causal schemas for efficiency.

Attributional Errors

Fundamental Attribution Error

• Tendency to overemphasize internal factors and underestimate situational influences.
• Classic Studies: Jones & Harris (1967) on Castro speeches.

Actor-Observer Effect

• Differences in attribution based on perspective (actor vs. observer).

Self-Serving Bias

• Attribution Patterns: Internal for success, external for failure.

Contemporary Applications

Weiner’s Attributional Theory of Motivation and Emotion

• Causal Dimensions: Locus, stability, controllability.
• Impact on Academic Context: Effects on emotions and behaviors of students and educators.

Reactions to Stigma

• Controllability Perception: Affects emotional and behavioral responses to stigmas.

Taylor’s Theory of Cognitive Adaptation

• Cognitive Processes: Meaning-making, regaining mastery, self-enhancement.
• Positive Illusions: Protect from further damage.

Janoff-Bulman’s Predictions on Self-Blame

• Behavioral vs. Characterological Self-Blame: Different adjustment outcomes based on controllability.

Reformulated Learned Helplessness Model

• Pessimistic Attributional Style: Internal, stable, global attributions linked to poor health outcomes.

Summary

• Causal Attribution: Essential cognitive task for understanding, predicting, and controlling future events.
• Classic Theories: Provide normative frameworks; reality involves adaptive shortcuts but also errors.
• Applications: Influence daily life, academic and health contexts, and personal adjustment.