[originaltext]M: One of the most common questions we ask about people’s behavio

M: One of the most common questions we ask about people’s behavior is why. Why does she say this? Why does he do that? Sometimes the reason is obvious. For example, someone is driving down the street, the light turns red, and he stops, why?
W: Because he has to, legally I mean.
M: Exactly! In this case the reason is obvious, so we usually don’t question it. But when the reason is not so obvious and especially when the behavior could have negative consequences, we’re more likely to feel a need to explain the causes of the behavior. Social psychologists have a term for this, for the process of explaining the causes of behavior. It’s called causal attribution. And one theory suggests there’s a pattern in the way we go about attributing causes to people’s behavior. According to this theory, there are two categories of reasons: internal factors and external factors. Again, Lisa, say you’re driving down the road and all of a sudden some guy turns into the lane right in front of you, and you have to slam on your brake to avoid an accident. How do you react?
W: I’ll probably get very angry.
M: Because...
W: Well, he’s not paying attention; he’s a bad driver.
M: So you automatically attribute the driver’s behavior to an internal factor. He himself is to blame because he is careless.
W: So if I said it was because of heavy traffic or something, I’d be attributing his behavior to an external factor, something beyond his control.
M: Good. Now how will you explain your own negative behavior?
W: I should blame external factors.
M: That’s right.