DESCRIPTIONS

Dawn - Dawn observed people that often attribute performance to individuals' skill or motivation.

Anke - Anke's company's numbers are down this month but the CEO explained that this is mostly due to the economy and not his strategy and decisions.

Alyia - Alyia and a colleague discussed how over a period of time, an individual's performance on a given task could be determined.

Damien - Damien's company's numbers are up this month; the CEO explained that this is mostly due to sound strategy and wise decisions, and not due to the economy or missteps by competitors.

Troy - Although Troy was a skilled financial advisor, it was difficult for him to explain to his clients when the market went down 30%.

Roland - Roland's new manager wonders if he excels in all aspects of his job, or if he is only good at doing analysis.

Lance - Being a member of a strong team can hurt and help you. It can help you if your performance is being judged as a team, but Lance learned in can hurt if your own performance is evaluated in relationship to other members who are top performers.

Attribution theories are based on the premise that people attempt to infer causes for observed behavior. Rightly or wrongly, we constantly formulate cause-and-effect explanations for our own and others' behavior. Even though our causal attributions tend to be self-serving and are often invalid, it is important to understand how people formulate attributions because they profoundly affect organizational behavior. This activity requires you to identify various aspects of attributions and some common attributional tendencies. Hover over each name on the left and read the descriptions. Next, match each person to the appropriate perceptual error. Dawn Internal factors Anke External factors Alyia Consensus Distinctiveness Damien Consistency Troy Fundamental attribution bias Roland Self-serving bias Lance