Internal And External Attributions

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Attribution Theory
The book’s definitions of attributions are “the casual explanations people give for their own and others’ behaviors, and for events in generals.” (2013, Baumeister & Bushman, p.163) Essentially, attributions break down into internal and external attributions. Bernard Weiner’s two-dimensional theory of attributions for success and failure explains the break down thoroughly and effectively. Internal attributions consisted of ability and effort whereas external attributions consisted of task difficulty and luck. This ties in with self-serving bias. You accredit internal attributions for success and use external attributions for failure which is very interesting! According to psychcentral.com, an internal attribution is “Blaming a factor, agent, or force within one’s control for causing an event.” (Grinnell, 2009). Also, according to the psychcentral.com, an external attribution is “Blaming an outside factor as the cause of an event.” (Grinnell, 2009). Fundamental attribution error is basically when individuals explain other individuals and blame internal factors that can be controlled by individuals for the cause of a situation, disregarding external causes.
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Specifically, in Chandler, Arizona I notice that there is a proportion of the population that is homeless, I do not know the exact proportion, but regardless I have seen homelessness in that town. Also, I have volunteered in downtown Phoenix at a homeless shelter called UMOM, one of the largest homeless shelter organizations in the state of Arizona. Over the years of volunteering with disadvantaged individuals like homeless, I have learned that they are unique individuals who are not what most people perceive them