Attribution theory is a psychological theory that seeks to explain how people make sense of the events and behaviors they observe in the world around them. It suggests that when we try to understand why someone does something, we engage in a process of attribution, in which we consider the various causes or factors that might have contributed to their behavior.
One classic case study in attribution theory is the work of social psychologists Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel, who conducted a series of experiments in the 1940s and 1950s to explore how people attribute causality to events and actions. In one experiment, they showed participants a short film of geometric shapes moving around on a screen. The participants were then asked to describe what they saw and to explain the behavior of the shapes.
Heider and Simmel found that participants tended to attribute the behavior of the shapes to intentional causes, even though the shapes were inanimate and had no intentionality. For example, they might describe the movement of a triangle as "chasing" a circle, or describe the movement of a square as "avoiding" a triangle. These attributions reveal how people are naturally inclined to attribute intentionality and agency to even simple, inanimate objects.
Another classic case study in attribution theory is the work of social psychologist Harold Kelley, who conducted a series of experiments in the 1960s and 1970s to explore how people attribute causality to events and behaviors in social situations. Kelley found that people tend to use a number of different strategies when trying to understand the behavior of others. One common strategy is the use of dispositional attributions, in which people attribute the behavior of others to their inherent personality traits or dispositions. For example, if someone is rude to us, we might attribute their behavior to the fact that they are naturally rude or unfriendly.
On the other hand, people also use situational attributions, in which they attribute the behavior of others to the circumstances in which it occurs. For example, if someone is rude to us in a crowded, noisy room, we might attribute their behavior to the stressful situation rather than their inherent personality.
Overall, attribution theory helps us to understand how people make sense of the events and behaviors they observe in the world around them. It highlights the importance of considering both dispositional and situational factors when trying to understand why someone does something, and helps us to recognize the biases and assumptions that can influence our attributions.
