Mind & behavior · 2007
Do we explain our own behavior differently from other people’s?
Yes—six studies supported systematic differences, but not the pattern predicted by the traditional theory. Instead, the findings supported an alternative theory that distinguishes several kinds of explanation rather than grouping causes as personal characteristics or circumstances. The studies used varied contexts and methods, but the abstract does not specify who participated or how large the differences were.
Details
The research compared competing predictions about how people explain their own behavior and someone else’s. Traditional attribution theory groups explanations into causes within the person, such as personal characteristics, and causes in the situation. The alternative theory distinguishes several kinds of explanation and specific features within each kind.
Across six studies, researchers found no evidence for the traditional prediction about differences between explanations of one’s own and others’ behavior. They did find systematic support for the differences predicted by the alternative theory. The negative finding does not mean people explained their own and others’ behavior identically; it means the traditional prediction was not supported in these studies.
The studies also offered preliminary evidence that wanting to shape others’ impressions, general knowledge, and being present together may help account for these differences. The abstract does not describe the specific explanation patterns, participant samples or sizes of the differences, limiting what can be said about exactly how explanations differed and how broadly the findings apply.
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