Attribution theory

An account of how observers explain conduct or events by assigning causal importance to personal and situational factors. The diagnosticity of behavior depends on the alternatives available in the actual situation.

Behavior $B$ is evidence for a disposition $D$, given a situation $S$, to the extent that its conditional likelihood ratio $P(B\mid D,S)/P(B\mid \neg D,S)$ differs from one. By Bayes' theorem this ratio multiplies the prior odds to give the posterior odds. If a constraint forces the same behavior regardless of the disposition, the ratio is one and the behavior leaves those odds unchanged. This does not exclude diagnostic information in other features, such as wording or voluntary choices. The argument identifies the assumptions needed to call a dispositional attribution biased.

Revising an initial impression to incorporate additional information about why conduct occurred. A cognitive-load manipulation can test the processing requirements of correction, but a final judgment alone does not establish a mandatory sequence of mental stages.

Underweighting situational determinants relative to personal determinants when explaining behavior. Correspondence bias concerns the more specific inference of a corresponding disposition from observed conduct. Neither term establishes that a particular inference is mistaken without a justified comparison.

A tendency to infer personal characteristics corresponding to observed conduct more strongly than is warranted after relevant situational constraints are considered. Establishing correspondence bias requires a justified benchmark for what the behavior reveals under those constraints. It is not a claim that every dispositional attribution is an error.

An explanation of conduct in terms of circumstances, constraints or incentives. Situational and dispositional contributions can interact rather than constituting mutually exclusive explanations.

An explanation of conduct in terms of a relatively enduring characteristic of the actor, such as an attitude or tendency. A dispositional attribution can be accurate; correspondence bias concerns excessive inference from conduct whose circumstances make it weak evidence.

An inference about the causes of another person's conduct or a social event. Social attribution can assign different weights to dispositional and situational explanations; its accuracy depends on available evidence and justified causal assumptions.