TY - JOUR

T1 - How people explain their own and others’ behavior:

T2 - a theory of lay causal explanations

AU - Böhm, Gisela

AU - Pfister, Hans-Rüdiger

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Böhm and Pfister.

PY - 2015/2/18

Y1 - 2015/2/18

N2 - A theoretical model is proposed that specifies lay causal theories of behavior; and supporting experimental evidence is presented. The model’s basic assumption is that different types of behavior trigger different hypotheses concerning the types of causes that may have brought about the behavior. Seven categories are distinguished that are assumed to serve as both behavior types and explanation types: goals, dispositions, temporary states such as emotions, intentional actions, outcomes, events, and stimulus attributes. The model specifies inference rules that lay people use when explaining behavior (actions are caused by goals; goals are caused by higher order goals or temporary states; temporary states are caused by dispositions, stimulus attributes, or events; outcomes are caused by actions, temporary states, dispositions, stimulus attributes, or events; events are caused by dispositions or preceding events). Two experiments are reported. Experiment 1 showedthat free-response explanations followed the assumed inference rules. Experiment 2 demonstrated that explanations which match the inference rules are generated faster and more frequently than non-matching explanations. Together, the findings support models that incorporate knowledge-based aspects into the process of causal explanation. The results are discussed with respect to their implications for different stages of this process, such as the activation of causal hypotheses and their subsequent selection, as well as withrespect to social influences on this process.

AB - A theoretical model is proposed that specifies lay causal theories of behavior; and supporting experimental evidence is presented. The model’s basic assumption is that different types of behavior trigger different hypotheses concerning the types of causes that may have brought about the behavior. Seven categories are distinguished that are assumed to serve as both behavior types and explanation types: goals, dispositions, temporary states such as emotions, intentional actions, outcomes, events, and stimulus attributes. The model specifies inference rules that lay people use when explaining behavior (actions are caused by goals; goals are caused by higher order goals or temporary states; temporary states are caused by dispositions, stimulus attributes, or events; outcomes are caused by actions, temporary states, dispositions, stimulus attributes, or events; events are caused by dispositions or preceding events). Two experiments are reported. Experiment 1 showedthat free-response explanations followed the assumed inference rules. Experiment 2 demonstrated that explanations which match the inference rules are generated faster and more frequently than non-matching explanations. Together, the findings support models that incorporate knowledge-based aspects into the process of causal explanation. The results are discussed with respect to their implications for different stages of this process, such as the activation of causal hypotheses and their subsequent selection, as well as withrespect to social influences on this process.

KW - Business psychology

KW - social attribution

KW - explanations

KW - lay theories

KW - causal inference

KW - folk psychologie

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84926632744&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00139

DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00139

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 25741306

VL - 6

SP - 1

EP - 15

JO - Frontiers in Psychology

JF - Frontiers in Psychology

SN - 1664-1078

IS - FEB

M1 - 139

ER -