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MENTAL MODEL · M1984

Attribution Theory

Attribution Theory
BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A theory that studies how people explain the causes of their own and others' behaviors, exploring the patterns of attributing outcomes to internal/external factors and stability.

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Attribution is a term used in psychology which deals with how individuals perceive the causes of everyday experience, as being either external or internal. Models to explain this process are called Attribution theory. Psychological research into attribution began with the work of Fritz Heider in the…

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Attribution theory studies how people infer the causes of behavior: internal (ability, effort) or external (situation, luck). Kelley's covariation model uses consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information to make attributions; it affects emotions and subsequent behavior.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribution_%28psychology%29ZH · Explicit
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