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ATTRIBUTION THEORY
One of the most amazing features of human beings is this: They can
explain anything. Maybe it comes from the fact that we are parents and our
children keep asking us, "Why?" And as older, superior beings, we just
naturally have the proper explanation to our kid's request. ("Why did I drop
that sofa on my foot? I did it to show you what a severe bruise looks like,
that's why.")
No matter the cause, we have a strong need to understand and explain
what is going on in our world. Because people must explain, it opens up some
interesting influence possibilities. Think about it for a minute. If you can
affect how people understand and explain what is going on, you might be able
to influence them, too.
First, let's understand the basic principles of how people explain
things. Then we will look at applications.
ATTRIBUTION THEORY
There is a theory about how people explain things. It is called
Attribution Theory. The theory is really quite simple despite its rather
strange sounding name. (When you see the term, "attribution," you should
think of the term, "explanation," as a synonym.) The theory works like this. Updated October 1, 2008; Copyright © SBB, 2008