Which behaviors do people explain? A basic actor-observer asymmetry.

Abstract

Attribution research as focused on how people xplain behavior; the present paper examines which behaviors they explain. The authors introduce a framework that specifies when people wonder about and explain an event. Applied to behavior, the framework predicts which behavioral events (intentional vs. unintentional nd observable vs. unobservable) actors and observers tend to explain: (a)Actors wonder more often about unintentional nd unobservable behaviors, whereas observers wonder more often about intentional and observable behaviors. (b) In private explanations (directed to oneself), actors explain more unintentional and unobservable behaviors, whereas observers explain more intentional and observable behaviors. (c) In communicative explanations (directed to others), both actors and observers explain more intentional and observable behaviors. These hypotheses are sup-ported in 5 studies using thought protocols, memory protocols, diaries, conversations, and novels. The central question of classic attribution theory is how peo-ple explain social behavior (Heider, 1958; Jones & Davis, 1965; Kelley, 1967). In this article, we focus on a different question: Which behaviors do people explain? The classic approach of attribution research is best illustrated

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