Attribution Theory

When we study attribution theory it can be identified as a mroe recent approach to the study of motivation at work.

Attribution is the process by which people interpret the perceived causes of behavior. Firs Heider who suggests that behavior is determined by a combination of perceived internal forces and external forces is generally recognized as the initiator of the attribution theory.

Internal forces relate to personal attributes such as abilities , skills, and amount of effort or fatigue. External forces relate to environmental factors such as organizational rules, the style of supervision and the weather.

Heider believed that both internal forces and external forces combine adaptively to determine behavior. He stressed that it is the perceived are not the actual determinants that are important in behavior. People will behave differently from the way they actually behave if they perceive internal attributes or the external attributes. It is this concept of deferential ascription that is very important for work motivation.