There are many reasons why an individual behaves in a particular way. Correspondingly, there are numerous guesses a person makes about the behaviors and .

             characteristics of another. This is the essence of attribution theory. Since its development, attribution theory has been applied to an array of disciplines. This facet of .

             cognition is not only of interest to social psychologists, but also to educators, sociologists, marketing professionals, management personnel, and those in the medical field. .

             Attribution theory states that humans 'tend to give a causal explanation for someone's behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition' .

             (Myers, 644). As such, it requires three components: an actor, behavior, and observer. For example, if a driver swerves in front of another's car, what is the .

             explanation the latter will provide for the former's action? The observer may conclude that there was an obstacle in the road or that the actor has fallen ill. These two .

             explanations credit situational causes to the behavior. What is more likely, however, is for the observer to attribute the actor's behavior to disposition, such as being.

             a clumsy driver. The way in which an individual perceives another has important implications as it can alter subsequent attitudes and behaviors.

             Naturally, there are several possibilities why a person acts in a certain manner. Building on the example above, the actor's behavior may be due to .

             drunkenness or automobile malfunctioning. There is a curious phenomenon in attribution theory. As alluded to above, research indicates a high occurence of .

             fundamental attribution error, which is 'the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate .

             the impact of personal disposition' (Myers, 644). An internal attribution claims that the actor was responsible for the event.