WGU Organizational-Behaviors-and-Leadership Exam - Topic 2 Question 4 Discussion

According to attribution theory, three factors determine whether an observer attributes behavior to internal or external causes: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

Distinctiveness: Whether the individual behaves differently in different situations.

Consensus: Whether others in the same situation behave similarly.

Consistency: Whether the individual behaves the same way over time.

Employee A's perception of why Employee B was late would depend on these three factors. For example, if Employee B is rarely late (high distinctiveness), if many other employees were also late (high consensus), and if Employee B is usually punctual (high consistency), Employee A might attribute the lateness to an external cause such as traffic or weather conditions.