Employee A noticed that Employee B was late for work, and A's perception of why...

Attribution theory is a cornerstone of social perception in the workplace, explaining how we judge people differently depending on what meaning we attribute to a given behavior. When we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally caused (under the person's control) or externally caused (forced by the situation). According to Harold Kelley’s model, this determination depends on three specific factors: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

Distinctivenessrefers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations. If Employee B is late for work but is generally reliable in all other tasks, the behavior has high distinctiveness, suggesting an external cause (like a traffic jam).Consensusoccurs if everyone who faces a similar situation responds in the same way. If every employee who took the same route as Employee B was also late, consensus is high, pointing to an external cause.Consistencylooks at whether the person responds the same way over time. If Employee B is late every single day, consistency is high, which usually leads the observer to attribute the behavior to internal causes (like a lack of discipline). By analyzing these three dimensions, Employee A forms a perception that dictates their reaction—whether that be empathy for a one-time external delay or disciplinary action for a recurring internal habit.