Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory

Harold Kelley's covariation theory helps determine whether a person's behavior stems from internal or external causes by analyzing three key factors.

Consensus refers to the extent to which multiple individuals react in the same way to a given situation.

For example, if many students struggle with an exam, the cause is likely external, indicating high consensus. If only one student struggles, it's likely an internal cause, indicating low consensus.

Likewise, consistency refers to how reliably an individual responds to the same situation over multiple occasions.

For instance, if a student repeatedly struggles with exams, the cause is likely internal and indicates high consistency. If difficulties occur only on certain exams, external factors may be responsible and indicate low consistency.

Finally, distinctiveness assesses whether an individual's response to a specific situation differs from their reactions to other situations.

For example, if the student performs poorly only on this specific exam, the cause is likely external and indicates high distinctiveness. If the student struggles with all exams, the cause is likely internal and indicates low distinctiveness.