Attributions in social interactions: A qualitative study

The purpose of this study was to investigate people's attributions in explaining ambiguously described behavior, and to discover whether and how those attributions reflect their social identities and social roles. A literature review grounded the study theoretically in Sociological Social Psychology. Qualitative methods of data collection and textual analysis were applied to open-ended questions about behavioral vignettes and a demographic information form.

Five major themes of attributional derivation emerged, supported in the literature. (1) Personal experience; (2) Socialized norms, expectations, stereotypes; (3) Response to the vignette, not the behavior; (4) Impression management; (5) Thought complexity.

Social roles and identities reflected four themes. (1) Relationships and human welfare—people in arts and humanities; (2) Behavioral perceptions—gays, lesbians, mixed ethnicities; (3) Political and religious ideologies (dualisms, role expectations, judgment)—conservatives and fundamentalists (4) Occupational characteristics.

Future research should address other demographic or social characteristics, as well as asking entirely new questions.