AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The process of assigning the cause of behavior to some situation or event outside a person’s control rather than to some internal characteristic. When we try to explain our own behavior we tend to make external attributions, such as situational or environment features.

Detailed explanation-2: -External attribution, also referred to as situational attribution, is interpreting an event or behavior as being caused by the situation that the person is in, such as their social or physical environment. It involves the assumption that if given similar circumstances, others would have behaved in the same way.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Attribution Process The underlying assumption of attribution theory is that people are motivated to understand their environment and the causes of particular events. If individuals can understand these causes, they will then be in a better position to influence or control the sequence of future events.

Detailed explanation-4: -External attributions are explanations that stress environmental or situational factors, such as task difficulty, social influences, and the physical characteristics of a particular environment (Ross 1977).

Detailed explanation-5: -Attributions are classified along three causal dimensions: locus of control, stability, and controllability. The locus of control dimension has two poles: internal versus external locus of control. The stability dimension captures whether causes change over time or not.