Attribution Theory

Attribution Theory

Based on Attribution Theory, we tend to attribute other people’s behaviours to their characters rather than situational factors (Fundamental Attribution Theory). The theory also states that when observing our own behaviours, we tend to attribute them to external factors which together with the Fundamental Attribution Theory form the Actor Observer Bias.

Another error raised in Attribution theory is the Culture Error whereby two distinct cultures attribute success differently as illustrated in the diagram below.[pic 1][pic 2][pic 3][pic 4][pic 5][pic 6][pic 7][pic 8][pic 9]

Halo/Horn Effect

The Halo and Horn Effect is a cognitive bias that is a result of allowing one trait (Good = Halo, Bad = Horn) to overshadow all other traits when trying to make sense of an individual’s behaviour. As a result of this bias, we tend to generalise our overall perception of an individual. If an individual is deemed to be a Horn then he/she can do no right and vice versa.

Conclusion

Referring back to the case, the group have deemed that Mo isn’t pulling his weight and is potentially a free rider. This can be attributed to the above mentioned theories where the group probably feels that it is in Mo’s nature that he isn’t producing quality work in a timely fashion (Fundamental Attribution Error). This in turn was compounded as the group favoured a Collectivist culture which meant that they would attribute failures to internal factors (Culture Error).  As a result the group developed a cognitive bias that Mo was just a bad student that has no interest in his work (Halo/Horn Effect).

As a result of the above perception the group has towards Mo, Mo was quickly categorized under the “Naughty List” and labelled a free rider causing great discontent within the group.