Attribution theory is focused how people understand what the causes of the event are and how they judge the people involved.
The causes of an event are:
- Internal (dispositional) – under the observer control
- External (situational) – under the control of the environment or other people
A manager should pay attention to certain cues:
- Consistency – how often a person engages in a certain behavior over time
- Consensus – how different is the behavior of a person compared with others
- Distinctiveness – the type of behavior a person engages in different situations
Biases in attribution:
- Fundamental attribution: If somebody else is successful is because the external factors. If he fails, is his fault.
- Self-serving bias: If you have success is because you are the best. If you fail, is because of others.
- Actor-observer effect: When you are the actor, the others will judge the situation based on dispositional causes (you) and you will judge it emphasizing the situation.
Biases in attribution theory are widely discussed under many forms and the people that pay attention to them are qualified as good managers or leaders: success is because my team, failure is because of me.
Most of us meet people that disregard these common sense rules despite the fact that they will make their life and the life of those around them better.
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