An important element in perception is attribution process. Attribution theory
(Kelley, 1972) suggests that when we observe an individual's behavior, we
attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused. Internally
caused behaviors are those that are believed to be under the personal control
of the individual. Externally caused behavior is seen as resulting from outside
causes; that is, the person is seen as having been forced into the behavior by
the situation.
There are three determining
factors in this regard:
Ø Distinctiveness
Ø Consensus
Ø Consistency
Distinctiveness refers to whether an
individual displays different behaviors in different situations. What we
attempt to know is whether the observed behavior is unusual. If it is, the
observer is likely to give the behavior an external attribution. If this action
is not unusual, it will probably be judged as internal.
Consensus occurs, if, everyone who
is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way. If consensus is
high, one would be expected to give an external attribution to the employee‟s tardiness, whereas, in
case of other employees taking the same route and making it work on time, the
causation for the same will be attributed to internal causation.
Consistency refers to the pattern
that is reflected regularly in a person's actions. Does the person respond the
same way over time? The more consistent the behavior, the more the observer is
inclined to attribute it to internal causes.
Fundamental Attribution Error
(Ross, 1977)
Research evidence shows that
individuals have a tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors
and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors. There is also a
tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors,
such as, ability or effort while putting the blame for failure on external
factors, such as, luck. This is called the “self-serving bias” and suggests
that feedback provided to employees will be distorted by recipients. The
question is whether or not these errors or biases that distort attribution are
universal across different cultures? While exact answers may not exist, there
is some preliminary evidence that indicates cultural differences (Robbins,
2003):
Ø Korean
managers found that, contrary to the self-serving bias, they tended to accept
responsibility for group failure.
Ø Attribution
theory was developed largely based on experiments with Americans and Western
Europeans.
Ø The
Korean study suggests caution in making attribution theory predictions in
non-Western societies, especially in countries with strong collectivist
traditions. More studies are required to provide conclusive evidences in this
regard.
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