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Theory of Causal Attribution :
 
According to this theory in the case of Single-Instance 
Observation the following principles are used in making attributions. 
Discounting principle works on the idea that we should assign 
reduced weight to a particular cause of behavior if there are other 
plausible causes that might have produced it.
Augmentation principle works on the idea that we should assign 
greater weight to a particular cause of behavior if there are other 
causes present that normally would produce the opposite outcome.

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In the case of multiple observations the co variation principle 
centering on the idea that we should attribute behavior to potential 
causes that co-occur with the behavior is used.
People act as 
scientists and assign causes of behaviour to
the factor that co 
varies most closely with the behaviour.
The Covariation Model : 
The Co-variation Theory assumes that people make causal 
attributions in a rational, logical fashion, like detectives, drawing 
inferences from clues and observed behaviours. By discovering co-
variation in people's behaviour you are able to reach a judgment 
about what caused their behaviour. 
The covariation model of Kelley (1967) focuses on how 
people decide whether to make an internal or an external attribution
and on instances where there are multiple observations of 
behavior. It explains the attribution process as a search for 
information about what a particular behavior is correlated (covaries) 
with: When behaviour is correlated with the Situation it is called 
external attribution. When behavior is correlated with the person it 
amounts to internal attribution The theory views people as naive 
scientists who analyze the world in a rational manner.
According to Kelly,in order to form an attribution about what 
caused a person’s behavior, we note the pattern between the 
presence (or absence) of possible causal factors and whether or 
not the behavior occurs. The most fundamental observation we 
make about a person's behavior is whether it is due to internal or 
external causes (Is the behavior determined by the person's own 
characteristics or by the situation in which it occurs?). The possible 
causal factors we focus on are (1) consensus information, or 
information about the extent to which other people behave the 
same way towards the same stimulus as the actor does;
(2) distinctiveness information, or information about the extent to 
which one particular actor behaves in the same way to different 
stimuli i.e., is concerned with whether the behavior occurs in other, 
similar situations; and (3) consistency refers to whether the 
behavior occurs repeatedly;. When these three sources of 
information combine into one of distinct patterns, a clear attribution 
can be made. 
1. Low Consensus, Low Distinctiveness and High Consistency 
leads people to make an internal attribution of the actor. 
2. High Consensus, High Distinctiveness, and High Consistency 
lead people to make an external attribution. It is something about 
the situation or target. 

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3. Finally when Consistency is Low we cannot make a clear internal 
or external attribution, and so resort to a special kind of external or 
situational attribution.
A) So when there is a Low Consensus, and High Distinctiveness, it 
is due to an actor and situation interaction that uniquely causes 
the outcome. 
B) When there is High Consensus, and Low Distinctiveness, it is 
either an actor attribution or a situation attribution. You basically 
don't know in this situation. 
Several studies have shown that people often make 
attributions the way Kelley's model say they should with one 
exception. In research studies, people don't use consensus 
information as much as Kelley's theory predicted; they rely more on 
consistency and distinctiveness information when forming 
attributions.
People are most likely to make an internal attribution when 
consensus and distinctiveness are low but consistency is high; they 
are most likely to make an external attribution when consensus, 
distinctiveness, and consistency are all high. When these 
dimensions are coupled with the internal and external labels a 
powerful tool comes into place to make judgments that influences 
decisions. For example, high consistency can be associated with 
both internal and external attributes, while high distinctiveness 
aligns with external attributes, and high consensus with internal 
attributes. 
The covariation model assumes that people make causal 
attributions in a rational, logical fashion. Several studies generally 
confirm that people can indeed make attributions in the way that 
these models predict, with the exception that consensus 
information is not used as much as Kelley’s model predicts. Also, 
people do not always have the relevant information they need on all 
three dimensions.
Covariation is not causation
.
Making co-variation judgments 
requires multiple observations, often this information is not 
available. We need to be aware that attributes are only inferences. 
The initial causes of behaviour may never be known, what we are 
doing is guessing.