Abstract
Attribution theory is basically dealing with the formation of individual opinions about the reasons of particular events or observations. This also includes opinions about the behavior of other people and about oneself. Attribution theory is usually seen as originating from the work of Heider (1958), Jones and Davis (1965) as well as Kelley (1967, 1972, 1973). It is argued that ordinary people use methods of ascribing reasons to observed events that are similar to the inductive approach used in scientific research. They try to identify the reasons for observed incidents and actions by collecting information which might be helpful for explaining them. More generally, in our everyday life we are constantly trying to form chains of cause and effect that link observed incidents (e.g., a traffic accident or a nervous breakdown of a colleague) and experiences (e.g., failing an exam) to possible reasons. Consequently, attributions are understood to play a crucial role in human categorization processes and, thus, in the reduction of ambiguity. By attributing causes to effects, observed or experienced incidents are linked to certain stimulus categories of the world in our mind. Hence, attributions provide order and increase the ability of a person to understand his/her own behavior and that of others. By linking incidents and actions to concrete reasons, they are interpreted and arranged by the observer. Based on this fact, the individual is then able to determine his/her own behavior.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ashkanasy NM (1989) Causal attributions and supervisors’ response to subordinate performance. The Green and Mitchell model revisited. J Appl Soc Psychol 19(4):309–330
Ashkanasy NM (1995) Supervisory attributionsand evaluative judgements of subordinate performance. A further test of the Green an Mitchell model. In: Martinko MJ (ed) Attribution theory. An organizational perspective. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, FL, pp 211–228
Ayman-Nolley S, Ayman R (2005) Children’s implicit theory of leadership. In: Schyns B, Meindl JR (eds) Implicit leadership theories – essays and explorations. Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT, pp 227–274
Bass BM (1995) Comment: transformational leadership. J Manag Inquiry 4(3):293–298
Bligh MC, Schyns B (2007) Leading question: the romance lives on: contemporary issues surrounding the romance of leadership. Leadership 3(3):343–360
Brown DJ, Scott KA, Lewis H (2004) Information processing and leadership. In: Antonakis J, Ciancolo AT, Sternberg RJ (eds) The nature of leadership. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp 125–147
Calder BJ (1977) An attribution theory of leadership. In: Staw BM, Salancik GR (eds) New directions in organizational behavior. St. Clair Press, Chicago, pp 179–204
Den Hartog DN, House RJ, Hanges PJ, Ruiz-Quintanilla SA, Dorfman PW (1999) Culture specific and cross-culturally generalizable implicit leadership theories: are attributes of charismatic/ transformational leadership universally endorsed? Leadersh Q 10(2):219–257
Eden D, Leviatan U (1975) Implicit leadership theory as a determinant of the factor structure underlying supervisory behavior scales. J Appl Psychol 60(6):736–741
Emrich CG (1999) Context effects in leadership perception. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 25(8):991–1007
Engle EM, Lord RG (1997) Implicit theories, self-schemas, and leader-member exchange. Acad Manage J 40(4):988–1010
Epitropaki O, Martin R (2005) From ideal to real: a longitudinal study of the role of implicit leadership theories on leader-member exchanges and employee outcomes. J Appl Psychol 90(4):659–676
Feldman JM (1981) Beyond attribution theory: cognitive processes in performance appraisal. J Appl Psychol 66(2):127–148
Felfe J (2005) Personality and romance of leadership. In: Schyns B, Meindl JR (eds) Implicit leadership theories – essays and explorations. Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT, pp 199–225
Green SG, Mitchell TR (1979) Attributional processes of leaders in leader-member interactions. Organ Behav Hum Perform 23(3):429–458
Heider F (1958) The psychology of interpersonal relations. Wiley, New York
Hoyt CL (2008) Leader-Follower relations. In: Marturano A, Gosling J (eds) Leadership. The key concepts. Routledge, London, pp 90–94
Hughes RL, Ginnett RC, Curphy GJ (1996) Leadership. Enhancing the lessons of experience. Irwin, Chicago
Hunt JG, Boal KB, Dodge GE (1999) The effects of visionary and crisis-responsive charisma on followers: an exerimental examination of two kinds of charismatic leadership. Leadersh Q 10(3):423–448
Jones EE, Davis KE (1965) From acts to dispositions. In: Berkowitz L (ed) Advances in experimental social psychology. Academic, New York, pp 219–266
Jones EE, Nisbett RE (1987) The actor and the obsever: divergent perceptions of the causes of behaviour. In: Jones EE, Kanouse DE, Kelley HH, Nisbett RE, Valins S, Weiner B (eds) Attribution: perceiving the causes of behavior. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 79–94
Keller T (1999) Images of the familiar: individual differences and implicit leadership theories. Leadersh Q 10(4):589–606
Kelley HH (1967) Attribution theory in social psychology. In: Levine D (ed) Nebraska symposium on motivation. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, pp 192–238
Kelley HH (1971) Attribution in social interaction. General Learning Press, Morristown, NJ
Kelley HH (1972) Causal schemata and the attribution process. In: Jones E, Kanouse D, Kelley H, Nisbett R, Valins S, Weiner B (eds) Attribution: perceiving causes of behavior. General Learning Press, Morristown, pp 151–176
Kelley HH (1973) The process of causal attribution. Am Psychol 28(2):107–128
Kenney RA, Blascovich J, Shaver PR (1994) Implicit leadership theories for new leaders. Basic Appl Soc Psychol 15(4):409–437
Konrad E (2000) Implicit leadership theories in Eastern and Western Europe. Soc Sci Inform 39(2):335–347
Kraus G, Gemmill G (1990) Idiosyncratic effects of implicit theories of leadership. Psychol Rep 66(1):247–257
Lord RG, Foti RJ (1986) Schema theories, information processing, and organizational behavior. In: Sims HP Jr, Gioia DA (eds) The thinking organization. Dynamics of organizational social cognition. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp 20–48
Lord RG, Foti RJ, DeVader C (1984) A test of leadership categorization theory: internal structure, information processing, and leadership perceptions. Organ Behav Hum Perform 34(3):343–378
Lord RG, Maher KJ (1990) Perceptions of leadership and their implications in organizations. In: Carroll JS (ed) Applied social psychology and organizational settings. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 129–154
Lord RG, Maher KJ (1993) Leadership and information processing: linking perceptions to performance. Routledge, London
Lord RG, Smith JE (1983) Theoretical, informational, information processing, and situational factor affecting attributional theories of organizational behavior. Acad Manage Rev 8(1):50–60
Maher KJ (1997) Gender-related stereotypes of transformational and transactional leadership. Sex Roles 37(3/4):209–225
Martinko MJ, Gardner WL (1982) Learned helplessness: an alternative explanation for performance deficits. Acad Manage Rev 7(2):413–417
Martinko MJ, Gardner WL (1987) The leader/member attribution process. Acad Manage Rev 12(2):235–249
Martinko MJ, Harvey P, Douglas SC (2007) The role, function, and contobution of attribution theory to leadership. A review. Leadersh Q 18(6):561–585
McElroy JC (1982) A typology of attribution leadership research. Acad Manage Rev 7(3):413–417
McElroy JC, Hunger JD (1987) Leadership theory as causal attributions of performance. In: Hunt JG, Baliga BR, Dachler HP, Schriesheim CA (eds) Emerging leadership vistas. Lexington Books, Lexington, pp 169–182
Medvedeff ME, Lord RG (2006) Implicit leadership theories as dynamic processing structures. In: Shamir B, Pillai R, Bligh MC, Uhl-Bien M (eds) Follower-centered perspectives on leadership: a tribute to the memory of James R. Meindl. Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, NC, pp 19–50
Meindl JR (1990) On leadership: an alternative to the conventional wisdom. In: Cummings TG, Staw BM (eds) Research in organizational behaviour. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp 159–203
Meindl JR, Ehrlich SB, Dukerich JM (1985) The romance of leadership. Adm Sci Q 30(1):78–102
Mitchell TR, Green SB, Wood RE (1981) An attributional model of leadership and the poor performing subordinate. Development and validation. In: Cummings TG, Staw BM (eds) Research in organizational behaviour. JAI-Press, Greenwich, CT, pp 197–234
Mitchell TR, Wood RE (1980) Supervisors’ responses to subordinate poor performance. A test of an attributional model. Organ Behav Hum Perform 25(1):123–138
Müller A, Schyns B (2005) The perception of leadership – leadership as perception: an exploration using the repertory grid-technique. In: Schyns B, Meindl JR (eds) Implicit leadership theories – essays and explorations. Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT, pp 81–101
Neuberger O (1995) Führen und Geführt werden [To lead and to be led]. Ferdinand Enke, Stuttgart
Neuberger O (2002) Führen und führen lassen. Ansätze, Ergebnisse und Kritik der Führungsforschung [To lead and to let lead. Approaches, findings and critique of leadership research]. Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart
Offermann LR, Kennedy JK Jr, Wirtz PW (1994) Implicit leadership theories – Content, structure and generalizability. Leadersh Q 50(1):31–41
Pfeffer J (1977) The ambiguity of leadership. Acad Manage Rev 2(1):104–112
Pillai R (1996) Crisis and the emergence of charismatic leadership in groups: an experimental investigation. J Appl Soc Psychol 26(6):543–562
Schyns B, Meindl JR (2005) An overview of implicit leadership theories and their application in organization practice. In: Schyns B, Meindl JR (eds) Implicit leadership theories – essays and explorations. Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT, pp 15–36
Shamir B (1995) Social distance and charisma: theoretical notes and and exploratory study. Leadersh Q 6(1):19–47
Shaver KG (1985) The attribution of blame. Causality, responsibility, and blameworthiness. Springer, New York
Weiner B, Frieze I, Kukla A, Reed L, Rest S, Rosenbaum RM (1987) Perceiving the causes of success and failure. In: Jones EE, Kanouse DE, Kelley HH, Nisbett RE, Valins S, Weiner B (eds) Attribution: perceiving the causes of behavior. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 95–120
Yagil D (1998) Charismatic leadership and organizational hierarchy: attribution of charisma to close and distant leaders. Leadersh Q 9(2):161–177
Yukl GA (2006) Leadership in organizations. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Fischbein R, Lord RG (2004) Implicit leadership theories. In JM Burns, K Cho, GR Goethals, GJ Sorenson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Leadership (pp. 700–706). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Winkler, I. (2010). Attribution Theory in Leadership Research. In: Contemporary Leadership Theories. Contributions to Management Science. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2158-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2158-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Physica-Verlag HD
Print ISBN: 978-3-7908-2157-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-7908-2158-1
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)