--- abstract: 'Attribution theory has played a major role in social-psychological research. Unfortunately, the term attribution is ambiguous. According to one meaning, forming an attribution is making a dispositional (trait) inference from behavior; according to another meaning, forming an attribution is giving an explanation (especially of behavior). The focus of this paper is on the latter phenomenon of behavior explanations. In particular, I discuss a new theory of explanation that provides an alternative to classic attribution theory as it dominates the textbooks and handbooks—which is typically as a version of Kelley’s (1967) model of attribution as covariation detection. I begin with a brief critique of this theory and, out of this critique, develop a list of requirements that an improved theory has to meet. I then introduce the new theory, report empirical data in its support, and apply it to a number of psychological phenomena. I finally conclude with an assessment of how much progress we have made in understanding behavior explanations and what has yet to be learned.' altloc: [] chapter: ~ commentary: ~ commref: ~ confdates: ~ conference: ~ confloc: ~ contact_email: ~ creators_id: [] creators_name: - family: Malle given: Bertram honourific: '' lineage: '' date: 2003 date_type: published datestamp: 2003-12-13 department: ~ dir: disk0/00/00/33/14 edit_lock_since: ~ edit_lock_until: ~ edit_lock_user: ~ editors_id: [] editors_name: [] eprint_status: archive eprintid: 3314 fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png;/3314/1/Explanation_theory_03.pdf full_text_status: public importid: ~ institution: ~ isbn: ~ ispublished: ~ issn: ~ item_issues_comment: [] item_issues_count: 0 item_issues_description: [] item_issues_id: [] item_issues_reported_by: [] item_issues_resolved_by: [] item_issues_status: [] item_issues_timestamp: [] item_issues_type: [] keywords: 'explanations, causality, intentionality, social cognition, theory of mind, folk psychology' lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:55:24 latitude: ~ longitude: ~ metadata_visibility: show note: ~ number: ~ pagerange: ~ pubdom: FALSE publication: ~ publisher: ~ refereed: FALSE referencetext: |- Abelson, R. P., & Lalljee, M. (1988). Knowledge structures and causal explanations. In D. J. Hilton (Ed.), Contemporary science and natural explanation: Commonsense conceptions of causality (pp. 175-203). Brighton: Harvester. Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74. Ahn, W., Kalish, C. W., Medin, D. L., & Gelman, S. A. (1995). The role of covariation versus mechanism information in causal attribution. Cognition, 54, 299-352. Ahn, W., & Kalish, C. W. (2000). The role of mechanism beliefs in causal reasoning. In F. Keil & R. A. Wilson (Eds.), Explanation and cognition (pp. 199-226). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Ames, D. R. (2003). Mental state inference in person perception: Everyday solutions to the problem of other minds. Manuscript under review. Anderson, C. A., Krull, D. S., & Weiner, B. (1996). Explanations: Processes and consequences. In E. T. Higgins, & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 271-296). New York: Guilford Press. Bartsch, K., & Wellman, H. M. (1995). Children talk about the mind. New York: Oxford University Press. Brewer, W. F. (1994). Autobiographical memory and survey research. In N. Schwarz & S. Sudman (Ed.), Autobiographical memory and the validity of retrospective reports (pp. 11-20). New York: Springer. Buss, A. R. (1978). Causes and reasons in attribution theory: A conceptual critique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1311-1321. Cheng, P. W., & Novick, L. R. (1992). Covariation in natural causal induction. Psychological Review, 99, 365-382. Cheng, P. W. (2000). Causality in the mind: Estimating contextual and conjunctive power. In F. C. Keil and R. A. Wilson (Eds.), Explanation and cognition (pp. 227-253). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Cowan, N. (1995). Attention and memory: An integrated framework. New York: Oxford University Press. Davidson, D. (1963). Actions, reasons, and causes. Journal of Philosophy, 60, 685-700. Donellan, K. S. (1967). Reasons and causes. In B. Edwards (Ed.), Encyclopedia of philosophy (Vol. 7, pp. 85-88). New York: Macmillan. F.Ex (2002). Coding scheme for people’s folk explanations of behavior (Version 4.1). Retrieved April 20, 2003 from darkwing.uoregon.edu/~bfmalle/fex.html Fletcher, G. J. O. (1983). The analysis of verbal explanations for marital separation: Implications for attribution theory. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 13, 245-258. Försterling, F. (1989). Models of covariation and attribution: How do they relate to the analogy of analysis of variance? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 615-625. Försterling, F. (1992). The Kelley model as an analysis of variance analogy: How far can it be taken? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 28, 475-490. Goldman, A. I. (1989). Interpretation psychologized. Mind and Language, 4, 161-185. Goldman, A. I. (2001). Desire, intention, and the simulation theory. In B. F. Malle, L. J. Moses, & D. A. Baldwin (Eds.), Intentions and intentionality: Foundations of social cognition (pp. 207-225). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Gopnik, A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (1997). Words, thoughts, and theories. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Gordon, R. M. (1986). Folk psychology as simulation. Mind and Language, 1, 158-171. Gordon, R. M. (1992). The simulation theory: Objections and misconceptions. Mind and Language, 7, 11-34. Gordon, R. M. (2001). Simulation and reason explanation: The radical view. Philosophical Topics, 29, 175-192. Hamilton, D. L. (1998). Dispositional and attributional inferences in person perception. In J. M. Darley & J. Cooper (Eds.), Attribution and social interaction: The legacy of Edward E. Jones (pp. 99-114). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Harris, P. (1992). From simulation to folk psychology: The case for development. Mind and Language, 7, 120-144. Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: Wiley. Hewstone, M., & Jaspars, J. (1987). Covariation and causal attribution: A logical model of the intuitive analysis of variance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 663-672. Hilton, D. J., Smith, R. H., & Kin, S. H. (1995). Processes of causal explanation and dispositional attribution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 377-387. Hilton, D. J., & Slugoski, B. R. (1986). Knowledge-based causal attribution: The abnormal conditions focus model. Psychological Review, 93, 75-88. Hilton, D. J. (1990). Conversational processes and causal explanation. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 65-81. Hirschberg, N. (1978). A correct treatment of traits. In H. London (Ed.), Personality: A new look at metatheories (pp. 45-68). New York: Wiley. Ickes, W. (1976). A conversation with Fritz Heider. In J. H. Harvey, W. Ickes, & R. F. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (Vol. 1, pp. 3-18). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Jones, E. E., & Davis, K. E. (1965). From acts to dispositions: The attribution process in person perception. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 219-266). New York: Academic Press. Jones, E. E., & Nisbett, R. E. (1972). The actor and the observer: Divergent perceptions of the causes of behavior. In E. E. Jones, D. Kanouse, H. H. Kelley, R. E. Nisbett, S. Valins, & B. Weiner (Eds.), Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior (pp. 79-94). Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press. Jones, E. E., Kanouse, D., Kelley, H. H., Nisbett, R. E., Valins, S., & Weiner, B. (Eds.). (1972). Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press. Kahneman, D., & Miller, D. T. (1986). Norm theory: Comparing reality to its alternatives. Psychological Review, 93, 136-153. Kelley, H. H. (1967). Attribution theory in social psychology. In D. Levine (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 15, pp. 129-238). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Kidd, R. F., & Amabile, T. M. (1981). Causal explanations in social interaction: Some dialogues on dialogue. In J. H. Harvey, W. J. Ickes, & R. F. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (Vol. 3, pp. 307-328). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Knobe, J., & Malle, B. F. (2002). Self and other in the explanation of behavior: 30 years later. Special issue on self-other asymmetries: Psychologica Belgica, 42, 113-130. Krueger, J., & Clement, R. W. (1997). Estimates of social consensus by majorities and minorities: The case for social projection. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1, 299-313. Kruglanski, A. W. (1979). Causal explanation, teleological explanation: On radical particularism in attribution theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1447-1457. Lalljee, M., & Abelson, R. P. (1983). The organization of explanations. In M. Hewstone (Eds.), Attribution theory : Social and functional extensions (pp. 65-80). Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Lalljee, M., Lamb, R., Furnham, A. F., & Jaspars, J. (1984). Explanations and information search: Inductive and hypothesis-testing approaches to arriving at an explanation. British Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 201-212. Lewin, K. (1936). Principles of topological psychology. (F. Heider & G. M. Heider, Trans.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Lewis, P. T. (1995). A naturalistic test of two fundamental propositions: Correspondence bias and the actor-observer hypothesis. Journal of Personality, 63, 87-111. Locke, D., & Pennington, D. (1982). Reasons and other causes: Their role in attribution processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 212-223. MacCionnaith, K. (2003). Accounting for actor-observer asymmetries in explanation: The role of impression management. Unpublished Senior Honors’ Thesis, University of Oregon. Malle, B. F. (1994). Intentionality and explanation: A study in the folk theory of behavior. Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Malle, B. F. (1999). How people explain behavior: A new theoretical framework. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3, 23-48. Malle, B. F. (2001). Folk explanations of intentional action. In B. F. Malle, L. J. Moses, & D. A. Baldwin (Eds.), Intentions and intentionality: Foundations of social cognition (pp. 265-286). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Malle, B. F. (2004). How the mind explains behavior: Folk explanations, meaning, and social interaction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Malle, B. F., & Ickes, W. (2000). Fritz Heider: Philosopher and psychologist. In G. A. Kimble & M. Wertheimer (Eds.), Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 193-214). Washington, DC and Mahwah, NJ: American Psychological Association and Erlbaum. Malle, B. F., & Knobe, J. (1997). The folk concept of intentionality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33, 101-121. Malle, B. F., & Knobe, J. (2001). The distinction between desire and intention: A folk-conceptual analysis. In B. F. Malle, L. J. Moses, & D. A. Baldwin (Eds.), Intentions and intentionality: Foundations of social cognition (pp. 45-67). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Malle, B. F., & Pearce, G. E. (2001). Attention to behavioral events during social interaction: Two actor-observer gaps and three attempts to close them. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 278-294. Malle, B. F., Knobe, J., & Nelson, S. (2003). Actor-observer asymmetries in folk explanations of behavior: New answers to an old question. Manuscript under revision. Malle, B. F., Knobe, J., O’Laughlin, M., Pearce, G. E., & Nelson, S. E. (2000). Conceptual structure and social functions of behavior explanations: Beyond person–situation attributions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 309-326. McArthur, L. Z. (1972). The how and what of why: Some determinants and consequences of causal attribution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 22, 171-193. McClure, J., & Hilton, D. (1997). For you can’t always get what you want: When preconditions are better explanations than goals. British Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 223-240. McClure, J., & Hilton, D. (1998). Are goals or preconditions better explanations? It depends on the question. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 897-911. McClure, J., & Hilton, D. (1997). For you can’t always get what you want: When preconditions are better explanations than goals. British Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 223-240. McClure, J., & Hilton, D. (1998). Are goals or preconditions better explanations? It depends on the question. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 897-911. McGill, A. L. (1989). Context effects in judgments of causation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 189-200. Mele, A. R. (1992). Springs of action: Understanding intentional behavior. New York: Oxford University Press. Mischel, T. (1969). Human action: Conceptual and empirical issues. New York: Academic Press. Nelson, S., & Malle, B. F. (2003). Self-serving biases in explanations of behavior. Manuscript in preparation. Nelson, S. E. (2003). Setting the story straight: A study of discrepant accounts of conflict and their convergence. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Oregon Nisbett, R. E., Caputo, C., Legant, P., & Marecek, J. (1973). Behavior as seen by the actor and as seen by the observer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27, 154-164. O’Laughlin, M. J., &. Malle, B. F. (2002). How people explain actions performed by groups and individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 33-48. Passer, M. W., Kelley, H. H., & Michela, J. L. (1978). Multidimensional scaling of the causes for negative interpersonal behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 951-962. Perner, J. (1991). Understanding the representational mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Quattrone, G. A. (1985). On the congruity between internal states and action. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 3-40. Read, S. J. (1987). Constructing causal scenarios: A knowledge structure approach to causal reasoning. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 52, 288-302. Russell, E. W., & d’Hollosy, M. E. (1992). Memory and attention. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 48, 530-538. Schwarz, N., & Clore, G. L. (1983). Mood, misattribution, and judgments of well-being: Informative and directive functions of affective states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 513-523. Searle, J. R. (1983). Intentionality: An essay in the philosophy of mind. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Slugoski, B. R., Lalljee, M., Lamb, R., & Ginsburg, G. P. (1993). Attribution in conversational context: Effect of mutual knowledge on explanation-giving. European Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 219-238. Storms, M. D. (1973). Videotape and the attribution process: Reversing actors’ and observers’ points of view. Journal of Personality Social Psychology, 27, 165-175. Tedeschi, J. T., & Reiss, M. (1981). Verbal strategies as impression management. In C. Antaki (Ed.), The psychology of ordinary social behaviour (pp. 271-309). London: Academic Press. Turnbull, W., & Slugoski, B. (1988). Conversational and linguistic processes in causal attribution. In D. J. Hilton (Ed.), Contemporary science and natural explanation (pp. 66-93). Brighton, Sussex: Harvester Press. Van Boven, L., & Loewenstein, G. (2003). Social projection of transient drive states. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1159-1168. Van Kleeck, M. H., Hillger, L. A., & Brown, R. (1988). Pitting verbal schemas against information variables in attribution. Social Cognition, 6, 89-106. Weiner, B. (1995). Judgments of responsibility: A foundation for a theory of social conduct. New York: Guilford. Wellman, H. M., Hickling, A. K, & Schult, C. A. (1997). Young children’s psychological, physical, and biological explanations. In H. W. Wellman, & K. Inagaki (Eds.), The emergence of core domains of thought: Children’s reasoning about physical, psychological, and biological phenomena (pp. 7-25). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Wellman, H. M. (1990). The child’s theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. White, P. A. (1991). Ambiguity in the internal/external distinction in causal attribution. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 27, 259-270. relation_type: [] relation_uri: [] reportno: ~ rev_number: 12 series: ~ source: ~ status_changed: 2007-09-12 16:49:47 subjects: - phil-mind - soc-psy succeeds: ~ suggestions: ~ sword_depositor: ~ sword_slug: ~ thesistype: ~ title: 'Attributions as Behavior Explanations: Toward a New Theory' type: preprint userid: 4548 volume: ~