Ambiguity in the internal/external distinction in causal attribution

Abstract

Many studies of causal attribution have used measures of internal (or personal) and external (or situational) attribution. Two studies are reported which show that this distinction is ambiguous because both halves of it confound a distinction between behavior seen as conscious, intentional, and done for reasons which may involve reference to either internal or external factors and behavior seen as unconscious, unintentional, and deteministically caused, again by factors which may be either internal or external to the actor. Future studies should use measures which are unconfounded with respect to this distinction.