Correspondent Inference Theory (CIT) is an influential social psychology theory, developed in the 1960s by Edward E. Jones and Richard E. Nisbett, which explains how people make causal attributions for behavior. The theory posits that people make causal attributions for behavior based on the degree to which the behavior is seen as “voluntary,” or under the actor’s control. According to CIT, when people observe a behavior that is seen as voluntary, they are likely to infer that the actor has internal, dispositional causes for the behavior. When a behavior is seen as involuntary and not under the actor’s control, people are more likely to attribute the behavior to external, situational causes (Jones & Nisbett, 1971).
CIT has been used to explain a variety of behaviors, including conformity, prejudice, and aggression. Studies have found that people are more likely to conform to the behavior of others when the original behavior is seen as voluntary, and that people are more likely to be prejudiced towards those who behave in a voluntary manner (Fiske & Neuberg, 1990). Similarly, CIT has been used to explain why people are more likely to aggress towards those whose behavior has been seen as voluntary, rather than involuntary (Geen, 1989).
CIT provides an important framework for understanding how people make attributions for behaviour. It suggests that people are more likely to attribute behaviour to internal, dispositional causes when it is seen as voluntary, and to external, situational causes when it is seen as involuntary. This has important implications for understanding how people interpret and respond to the behaviour of others.
References
Fiske, S. T., & Neuberg, S. L. (1990). A continuum of impression formation, from category-based to individuating processes: Influences of information and motivation on attention and interpretation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 23, 1-74.
Geen, R. G. (1989). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 40, 375-425.
Jones, E. E., & Nisbett, R. E. (1971). The actor and the observer: Divergent perceptions of the causes of behavior. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.