attributional style

n. Attributional style relates to individual differences in the way one makes attributions or estimates about the causes of behavior. Some individuals have individual, personal preferences or biases in the types of attributions that they make. Much of the research on attributional (or explanatory) style is tied closely to the concept of locus of control. People are generally fairly moderate in terms of their locus of control, but some people tend toward emphasis on internal or external factors. Individuals who have a highly internal locus of control tend to explain events in terms of internal (person-related) causes, while individuals who have a highly external locus of control tend to explain things in terms of the environment or other factors out of the individual’s control (e.g., fate). Some individuals adopt a negative attributional style in which they explain positive events in terms of external factors and negative events in terms of internal factors. Research has also shown that some individuals are predisposed to interpret ambiguous events as aggressive, an effect known as the hostile attribution bias.       - mp