kelley’s theory of attribution

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Kelley’s theory of attribution

Presented By,Sam Mathew

samcmathew@yahoo.com

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Introduction• Attribution is the process through which we seek

to identify the cause of others behavior & also gain knowledge of their stable traits & disposition.• Cause of a behavior can be assigned to internal or

external factors.

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Kelley’s theory of causal attribution.

• Proposed by Horald Kelly in 1967.• The theory says that people assign the cause of

behavior to the factors that covaries most closely with the behavior.• According to theory, behavior can be attributed

to dispositional (internal) or Situational (external) factors.

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3 major dimensions• Consensus: It is the extent to which others react to same stimuli

or event in the same manner as the person.• Consistency: It is the extent to which the person react to the

stimuli or event in the same way on similiar occasions across time. Extend to which a behavior Y always co-occurs with a stimulus X

• Distinctiveness: It is the extend to which the person react in the same manner to other different stimuli or event. i.e. whether the person reacts same only with one stimuli, or is common to many stimuli.

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Eg. 1. Condition 1

A student, Raja, is not listening in the math class. But all others were listening. He did not listen to any math class and also to any other subjects.

Consensus – LowConsistency – HighDistinctiveness - Low

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Eg. 1. Condition 2

A student, Raja, is not listening in the math class. Other students were also not listening. He did not listen to any math class. But he listen to other subjects.

Consensus – HighConsistency – HighDistinctiveness - High

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Eg. 2. Condition 1

A student, Dev, shouts at his English teacher. But others do not. He shouts to English teacher all the time and he also shouts to other teachers also.

Consensus – LowConsistency – HighDistinctiveness - Low

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Eg. 2. Condition 2

A student, Dev, shouts at his English teacher. Other students also shouts to him. He shouts to English teacher all the time. But he do not shouts to other teachers.

Consensus – HighConsistency – HighDistinctiveness - High

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Eg. 3. Condition 1

Raju is late to office. But all others were in time. He is always late to office and to all programs outside office.

Consensus – LowConsistency – HighDistinctiveness - Low

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Eg. 3. Condition 2

Raju is late to office. His colleagues were also late. He is always late to office, but very punctual in all other places.

Consensus – HighConsistency – HighDistinctiveness - High

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How we attribute?

factors Internal External Uncertain

Consensus Low High

Consistency High High Low

Distinctiveness Low High

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Drawbacks• Theory work only when people pay close attention to others

behavior.• Information about consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness

need multiple observations.• People tend to avoid cognitive work, whenever they can. o Careful analysis occur in two conditions:• When people encounter with unexpected events.• When they encounter with negative events or situations.

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Reference

• Baron, R A; Branscombe, N L. (2012). Social Psychology. New Delhi: Pearson Publishers.

• Hogg, M A; Vaughan, G M. (2011). Social Psychology. Harlow: Pearson Publishers.

• Sanderson, C A. (2011). Social Psychology. New Delhi: Wiley India Publishers.

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THANK YOU…