The attributive style consists in the process by which individuals tend to explain their own and others’ experiences, attributing it to the causal links.
We start from the assumption that the human being, in order to regulate his behavior, has an innate need to understand the causes of events.
The attributions are configured as short -learned shortcuts of thought that allow us to attribute almost automatic, and therefore not very expensive, of the explanations to the occurrence of certain events of the past and to predict the trend of events in the future.
The theory of attributive styles
Several authors during the last century have provided important contributions aimed at understanding what the variables that determine and make up the ways in which people interpret the causes of the events, actions and facts that occur in their living environment.
A complete explanatory model was proposed by Weiner (Weiner, 1985) which identified three dimensions through which the attributive styles can be classified:
Locus of control
It refers to the subjective evaluation of the factors to which the cause of events that can be internal or external is attributed.
An internal locus of control will determine the attribution of the results of an event to internal characteristics of the individual, while an external locus of control will tend to attribute them outside, thus limiting the perception of the individual to be able to change the course of events.
Examples of internal locus of control are commitment, ability and experience while examples of external locus of control are luck and external help.
Controllability
It refers to the degree with which the individual perceives the event as internally or externally controllable and, therefore, can be placed on modification.
Fortune represents an example of uncontrollable cause while the commitment represents a controllable cause.
Stability
Refers to the possibility of predicting the outcome of future events.
The stable causes are tendentially predictable, the unstable ones instead determine a certain degree of uncertainty.
Among the stable causes it is possible to mention the ability, while among the unstable ones commitment and luck.
Method of attribution
Based on the combination of these three dimensions, the following eight attribution methods can be identified:
- Tenacity: Intern-Stable-Controlable attribution
- Capacity/skill: Intern-Stable-Meeting attribution
- Commitment: Intern-Instable-Controlable Attribution
- Tone of mood: internal-intestructive-meeting attribution
- Prejudice of the evaluator: external-stable-accountable attribution
- Difficulty of the task: external-stable-meeting attribution
- External aid: external-inspired-contractable attribution
- Luck: external-intentible-meeting attribution
Classification of attributive styles
More recently, a further categorization of attributive styles (Ravazzolo et al, 2005) has been formulated which examines the different ways in which individuals can tend to interpret their successes and failures selectively.
- Strategic commitment style: both for success and failure, the individual tends to attribute the outcome to his commitment. In case of failure, therefore, the person tends to find new solutions and persist in the task, while maintaining positive expectations.
- Style of the negator: tends to attribute successes to one’s skills and failures to external causes, more or less controllable and stable. These individuals tend to be convinced that things must succeed without too much commitment (stable internal attribution) and tend not to teach from errors, outsourcing responsibility for their failures.
- Skilled style: In this configuration both successes and failures are attributed to stable internal characteristics such as skill or ability. The successes and failures are therefore interpreted as evidence of unchangeable internal characteristics with consequent low persistence in the most difficult tasks. In this attributive style, the perception of self -esteem is strongly influenced by the results obtained.
- Style of the depressed: in this attributive style the causes of successes are attributed outside, while the causes of failures to stable internal characteristics such as skill. This attributive style is one of the most dysfunctional since it is responsible for what is called impotence learnedcharacterized by a marked resignation and passivity and by a perception of uncontrollability of the events which, by disenchanted the commitment, leads to obtaining mediocre results thus strengthening the conviction of impotence circularly.
- Style of the pawn: both the successes and the failures are attributed to external causes. This attributive style is associated with a strong dependence on the external context and frequent emotions of anger if the bankruptcy is attributed to the lack of help and resignation if it is instead attributed to bad luck.
Clinical implications of attributing styles
The main area in which the attributive styles have been studied concerns the psychology of evolutionary age, with particular reference to the attribution of causality for successes and failures in school services.
However, the attributing styles do not exhaust their influence with the growth of the individual. Being a method of reading the reality learned in the course of life, they will guide the evaluations of the individual also in adulthood, helping to decisively determine the evaluation of himself and the perception of self-effectiveness, as well as the predisposition to interpret life events as more or less controllable.
In this perspective it is evident that the attributive styles can favor or, on the contrary, to discourage, some processes that, ultimately, can conduct the individual towards psychopathology.
There are many studies that, for example, link the learned impotence, typical of the depressed attributive style, to the manifestation of depressive symptoms. It also appears evident that the styles that tend to outsource the responsibility of the events are binding more on conditions of low self-effectiveness perceived. As well as a tendency to dependence events in the event that events are attributed to the action of the other (controllable external attributions) and symptoms of anxiety related to unpredictability typical of uncontrollable external attributions such as luck or difficulty of the situation.
As usual, the stable and uncontrollable internal attributions, typical of the skilled style, can bring the individual to an extreme oscillation of self -esteem. This with a consequent hyper-reservations aimed at avoiding failures at all costs, a clinically associated condition with performance anxiety manifestations and trends associated with the narcissistic personality function.
Attributive style and motivation to therapy
From a clinical point of view, in addition to the influence exercised by the attributive style in determining psychological suffering, the preparation of the individual to attribute causality links to events is also decisive within the therapeutic process.
An essential prerequisite for a good therapeutic effectiveness, especially within the cognitive-behavioral model, is in fact represented by the motivation that the individual has towards therapy and the commitment that he is willing to put in the lead to produce a change.
These two factors, in turn, are closely linked to the expectations and forecasts he has compared to the results of the events.
A person with an attributive style tending to strategic commitment will collect with positivity the request to engage in the process of change and will also face therapeutic difficulties in a positive way.
Otherwise, those who tend to stable internal attributions will tend to blame themselves for their difficulties and be less confident in the possibility of change.
Those who tend to external attributions, in turn, will maintain a fatalistic attitude or dependent on the therapist, oscillating between resignation and anger in the face of difficulties.
In this perspective, from a clinical point of view, it is of fundamental importance to identify early the attributive style of the patient and make it aware of the limits that the dysfunctional attributing styles involve with a view to therapeutic change.
Motivating the individual towards a style devoted to commitment and, in parallel, to a perception of controllability of the therapeutic path, therefore, represent factors essential for the success of the entire care path.
Bibliography
- Ravazzolo, C., De Beni, R., & Moè, A. (2005). Motivational attributing styles: paths to improve learning skills in children aged 4 to 11. Erickson editions.
- Weiner, B. (1985). An attribution Theory of Motivation and Emotion. New York: Springer-Verlag.
