Shelley Duval - Consistency and Cognition: A Theory of Causal Attribution

Copyright 1983 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Publishers 365 Broadway Hillsdale, New Jersey 07642

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Duval, Shelley. Consistency and cognition. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Cognition. 2. Causation. 3. Attribution (Social psychology) I. Duval, Virginia Hensley. II. Mayer, F. Stephan. III. Title. [DNLM: 1. Cognition. 2. Psychological theory. BF 311 D983c] BF311.D886 1983 153 82-21079 ISBN 0-89859-220-8

Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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As Jones and Kelley ( 1978) point out, theories of causal attribution fall into one of two distinct categories: Those that are concerned with the basic psychological processes underlying causal attribution and those that deal with the motivational, affective, and behavioral consequences of causal assignation. Our theory falls into the first category and is based on one major assumption. Causal attribution is a manifestation of the tendency for consciousness, as a system, to organize cognitive content, that is, cognitions, into the simplest structures possible. The following issues are addressed from this theoretical perspective. (1) Why dos causal attribution happen at all? (2) How does the structure of cognitive organization change when causality for an effect is first attributed to an event, and how can this new structure best be described? (3) What principles determine which event will be connected with an effect in a cause-effect relationship? (4) What properties of effects and possible causes constitute independent variables in the attribution process? (5) To what extent do internal systems contribute to those properties?

Our theory is based on certain assumptions about the nature and operation of human consciousness. Consequently, we have drawn freely from works that, in our opinion, have made critical contributions to this area of inquiry. In particular, the theory incorporates certain concepts and language from four sources: Heider's ( 1944, 1958) application of general principles of cognitive organization to causal attribution, the general principles embodied in cognitive consistency theories of cognitive activity, Tversky's ( 1977) analysis of asymmetrical relations, and theories of attention.

The present monograph should be interesting to those who find the major

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questions concerning the attribution process itself interesting. We also believe that the psychologist involved in applying an attributional approach to social interaction, aggression, attitude formation, etc., will find the work thought provoking and, hopefully, useful. Accurate predictions concerning the impact of causal attribution on behavior obviously require ideas concerning what variables influence the attribution process. In this regard, the present work presents several new variables (affective intensity, coping ability) for consideration and invites the reader to look at some of the variables already in use (temporal covariation, violation of expectation) from a new perspective.

At this point we would like to take the opportunity to thank the many people who have contributed to this book. In particular we would like to thank Bob Arkin and Ken Siegel for their helpful comments on earlier versions of the book. Joanne Ramirez has done a remarkable job of typing the numerous drafts that this manuscript has gone through. Our special thanks go to Tony and Julie Lamb.

S.D. V.H.D.

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For over 35 years, social psychologists have recognized the importance of causal attribution in determining behavior. Heider's ( 1944, 1958) suggestion -- that a person's ability to control his or her environment depends on the recognition of causal relationships -- constitutes the initial statement of the relationship between attribution and behavior. To negotiate the external world, it is certainly advantageous, and possibly essential, to understand which specific events are causing what particular effects. The role of this process in determining behavior is clarified by Kelley's ( 1973) statement that: "causal attribution identifies the causes of certain effects and forms the basis for decisions about how to act in order to bring about the continuance or discontinuance of those effects [p. 127]." That a person's behavior in a particular situation may be affected by what that person sees as causing a particular effect highlights the need for a theory providing an integrated approach to the dynamics of the causal-attribution process.