Attribution theory suggests that when we observe an individual's behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused. That determination depends largely on three factors:

(1) distinctiveness, (2) consensus, and (3) consistency.

Full question

Attribution theory tries to explain the ways in which we judge people differently, depending on the meaning we attribute toa given behavior. 1 It suggests that whenwe observe an individual's behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused. That determination, however, depends largely on three factors: (1) distinctiveness, (2) consensus, and (3) consistency.

First, let's clarify the differences between internal and external causation, and then we'll elaborate on each of the three determining factors.

Answer

Internally caused behaviors are those we believe to be under the personal control of the individual.

Externally caused behavior is what we imagine the situation forced the individual to do. If one of your employees is late for work, you might attribute that to his partying into the wee hours and then oversleeping. This is an internal attribution. But if you attribute lateness to an automobile accident that tied up traffic, you are making an external attribution.

Now let's discuss the three determining factors. Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations. Is the employee who arrives late today also one who regularly "blows off" commitments? What we want to know is whether this behavior is unusual. If it is, we are likely to give it an external attribution. If it's not, we will probably judge the behavior to be internal.

If everyone who faces a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the behavior shows consensus. The behavior of our tardy employee meets this criterion if all employees who took the same route were also late. From an attribution perspective, if consensus is high, you would probably give an external attribution to the employee's tardiness, whereas if other employees who took the same route made it to work on time, you would attribute his lateness to an internal cause. Finally, an observer looks for consistency in a person's actions. Does the person respond the same way over time? Coming in 10 minutes late for work is not perceived in the same way for an employee who hasn't been late for several months as it is for an employee who is late two or three times a week. The more consistent the behavior, the more we are inclined to attribute it to internal causes.

Attribution theory suggests that when we observe an individual's behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused.

Attribution theory is an attempt to determine whether an individual's behavior is internally or externally caused and internal cause behaviors are those that an individual believe are under the personal behavioral control of another individual while the externally caused behaviours are what we imagine the situation forced the individual to do.

Internally or externally cause attribution are determination depends largely on three factors: Distinctiveness, Consensus, and consistency.