Attribution theory, Weiner 1958, offers an explanation about how people search for and find meaning in the events we experience or in those behaviors that we put into practice or that we observe in others.
According to this theory, people can make sense of events based on external causes (external locus of control) or internal factors (internal locus of control). On the other hand, we characterize these causes in a more or less permanent way over time (stability) and in a way that is more or less controllable by us (controllability).
These three elements: locus of control, stability and controllability They influence the meaning that we give to the event but they also have an effect on the emotion that what happens to us generates and of course, on how we face or deal with what happens to us.
Why do problems arise with attributional states?
When a person gets an unsatisfactory result (in this case it is a group of people, the football team), you can attribute the cause of it to a lack of ability, poor performance, or to an external cause that is difficult or impossible to control (bad luck). , …).
The attribution of bad results to internal and stable factors (clumsiness, inferiority…) increases feelings of sadness and inability and blocks action and resolution (“A generation has ended, a stage of champions”) The attribution of bad results to uncontrollable external factors (poor luck, destiny…) distances us from responsibility or the ability to influence what happens to us (“It’s as if they had given us the evil eye”) and leads us back to inaction and rage. When we look for an explanation on internal or external factors without previously determining their stability or the degree of influence that we have before them, we place ourselves in a scenario of analysis of reality, reflection and planning of the new action (“goals against and adverse results undermine morale “but “there will be plenty of time to react in the future” “now is not the time to make important decisions”)
I propose you a simple exercise Imagine a situation of some importance to you: going to a job interview, an appointment with someone important that you have to keep but to which you arrive late because on the way you encounter a big traffic jam. What would be your internal dialogue in that situation? Where is your dialogue taking you?: If it anchors you in negative emotions and places you in hopelessness or anger, it may be necessary to review your attribution style.
