Article citation:
Rhodes, N., & Hamilton, J. C. (2006). Attribution and entertainment: It's not who dunnit, it's
why. In J. Bryant & P. Vorderer (Eds.), Psychology of entertainment (pp. 119-136). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Vocabulary:
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Attribution theory
Just-world hypothesis
Attentional focus
o ‘invisibility’ of the situation
Self-serving attributions
Third person effect
o Tendency toward unrealistic optimism
o Control beliefs
Plot twists
Counterfactual thinking
Major issues addressed:
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Nature of attribution
Biases in attribution
o When observing someone else
o When observing one’s own behavior
o Effect of culture on ‘fundamental bias’
Value of attribution to the observer
Dual-process theory
o Initial internal attribution followed by more careful consideration often including
situational constraints
Explaining past behavior v. predicting future behavior
Explaining media use
Attribution as fundamental to disposition theory
Third-person omniscient point of view
The relationship between gender and drama consumption
Questions for the midterm/final:
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What insight into uses and gratifications research does attribution theory provide us?
Rhodes and Hamilton’s thesis is: “fictional drama allows the audience to practice
thinking about the complex blend of dispositional and situational factors that influence
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complex human social behavior.” Explain what they are saying in your own words and
provide examples.
If the authors are correct and attributional processes are at the heart of the enjoyment of
media content, how could you improve videogames to make them more enjoyable? Be
specific about changes that you could make.