Attribution Theory: Our Perceptions of Ourselves and Others

I absolutely love my interpersonal communications course I am taking this semester. Last week, we talked about perceptions. It was a very interesting topic that literally had me on the edge of my seat. More specifically, we indepthly discussed: Attribution Theory.

Attributions are our own subjective explanations for our own or others' behaviors. We make attributions, or assumptions, about the behaviors of people, or the reason behind a person's behavior. Ultimately, the attributions we make about others influence how we react to others.

There are two types of attributions:

1. External-attribute the cause of the behavior to the situation
2. Internal-attribute the cause of the behavior to the person

There are a number of common attribution errors we make about others.

Here are a few of the common errors:

1. Ultimate Attribution Error-we tend to make internal attributions of others' negative behavior and external attributions of others' positive behavior

We assume that a person is a bad driver because he or she pulled out in front of you. However, maybe that person pulled out in front of you because his wife is in labor or a family member was just rushed to the hospital. Or maybe our friend received a job promotion. Rather than considering his or her extra effort, we assume that it is because no one else applied for the position.

2. Self-Serving Bias-we tend to make external attributions of our negative behavior and internal of our positive behavior

We didn't do well on our exam because we had other things going on, when in reality we maybe did not spend enough time adequately preparing. However, when we do well on an exam it is because we attended class regularly and studied a lot.

3. Similarity Bias-we provide more favorable attributions toward in-groups than out-groups

It is typical to give a person the benefit of the doubt when we feel they are similar to us, or they are in our "in-group." If someone is late for lunch in our in-group, we forgive them immediately or assume they were stuck in traffic. However, if someone from our out-group is late for lunch, we assume they are lazy or disorganized.

4. Positivity Bias-we tend to make more positive than negative judgements about others when we have the chance to interact with them

Once we become friends with a person, we make positive excuses for them. This is similar to Error #3. If a friend does not call us when they say they are going to call, we assume they got caught up with others things and they forgot rather than that they did not want to chat with us.

For the rest of our lives, we will make attributions about others. If we actively keep this theory in mind, it can improve our relationships with others and help us let the small stuff roll of our backs.

How do we do this? With perception checking. Next time you assume a friend is mad at you for example, approach the situation differently by doing these three things:

1. Behavioral description-explain what it is that person is doing
2. 2 possible attributions-2 ways to interpret the behavior
3. Request for clarification

"I've noticed you've been really quiet lately. I am thinking that you are either stressed out or you are mad at me. Can you help me understand your quietness better?"

This approach will prevent a person from becoming defensive to your assumptions and will allow for a smoother and calm transition into the real issue.