Attribution Theory: Locating the Cause of Events
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What is Attribution Theory?
Attribution theory, developed by Fritz Heider 80 years ago, explores how we perceive and understand the causes of our experiences.
It is closely tied to the concept of Locus of Control, which measures our belief in our ability to shape our own life outcomes.
When something happens to us, we tend to attribute it to either something we did or to external factors beyond our control.
These internal and external attributions play a significant role in shaping our worldview.
However, it is important to note that attributions are not simply black or white; they can also be influenced by social and cultural contexts.
Attribution Theory & Mental Health
These days, many mental health problems have been attributed to faulty biological functions inside a person’s brain in what has become known as the chemical imbalance model.
In this sense, the biomedical models of mental illness attribute the cause of emotional distress internally ie. the individual’s ‘disordered’ brain chemistry.
The suggestion that emotional distress is the result of some sort of disorder leads many sufferers to believe that the only solution to their ‘problems’ is through corrective chemical intervention – psychiatric drugs.
When a person believes that their emotional distress is the result of an illness rather than how they have made sense of a particular experience, then they are significantly less likely to attempt any self-corrective courses of action.
In this sense, the bio-medical model facilitates a diminished sense of agency.
External Social Factors
It is widely acknowledged that social inequalities (such as racial prejudice or gender inequality for example) are prime causes of mental distress.
These social factors are, of course, external factors in that a person can do very little about them.
In these cases, emotional distress can be rightly attributed to external influencers and NOT any kind of chemical imbalance.
Agency: The Power To Determine Your Own Direction
Making Sense of Agency
Agency, within a psychological context, is defined as:
“The sense of agency (SA), or sense of control, is the subjective awareness of initiating, executing, and controlling one’s own volitional actions in the world.”
Mental Health Barriers: Obstacles to Wellness
Mental health barriers are those factors in lfe that prevent people from experiencing high degrees of wellbeing and overall wellness.
Some of these barriers are common across all human beings and others are culturally, socially or age specific.
Resilience: the Ability to Bounce-Back
Resilience is a person’s ability to ‘bounce-back’ from problems, difficulties and life challenges.
In life we can all expect to have our fair share of difficult times, for example when losing a loved one or when suffering ill health.
Everybody has a different level of resilience and….