TY  - GEN
ID  - cogprints3314
UR  - http://cogprints.org/3314/
A1  - Malle, Bertram
TI  - Attributions as Behavior Explanations: Toward a New Theory
Y1  - 2003///
N2  - 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.
AV  - public
KW  - explanations
KW  -  causality
KW  -  intentionality
KW  -  social cognition
KW  -  theory of mind
KW  -  folk psychology
ER  -

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