What is correspondent inference theory

Correspondent inference theory is a psychological theory that explains how people infer the underlying causes of behavior. It suggests that people infer the internal states and dispositions of an actor based on their observed behavior. In particular, it posits that people will tend to infer that an actor's behavior is caused by their dispositions or internal characteristics, rather than external factors, when the behavior is voluntary and when it is specific to the situation. Additionally, people will be more likely to infer dispositional causes for behavior when the behavior has positive consequences for the actor and when the behavior is unexpected.

Features of Correspondent inference theory

Correspondent inference theory has several key features:

  1. Voluntariness: People tend to infer that behavior is caused by internal dispositions or characteristics when it is seen as voluntary.

  2. Specificity: People are more likely to infer internal causes for behavior when it is specific to the situation.

  3. Consequences: People are more likely to infer internal causes for behavior when it has positive consequences for the actor.

  4. Expectancy: People are more likely to infer internal causes for behavior when it is unexpected.

  5. Attributional style: People tend to attribute behavior to internal dispositions or characteristics when they are looking for an explanation of an action.

  6. Attentional focus: People tend to focus on dispositional information when they are trying to make an inference about an actor's behavior.

  7. Motivation: People tend to infer internal dispositions or characteristics when they are motivated to make sense of an action.

  8. Perception of causality: People tend to infer that behavior is caused by internal factors when they perceive a cause-and-effect relationship between the behavior and its consequences.

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