ATTRIBUTION

THEORY OF

PERCEPTION

Jism

y J

am

es, M

.A.M

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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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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.

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.

That determination depends largely on three factors:

Jismy James, M.A.M

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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

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.

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.

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.

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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Factors That Influence Perception

Jismy James, M.A.M

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Perceiver

Target

Situation

1

2

3

Jismy James, M.A.M

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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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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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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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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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THANK YOU

Jismy James, M.A.M

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