Editing Attribution bias (section)

====Covariation model====
Soon after [[Attribution bias#Jones & Davis|Jones and Davis]] first proposed their correspondent inference theory, [[Harold Kelley]], a social psychologist famous for his work on interdependence theory as well as attribution theory, proposed a ''covariation model'' in 1973 to explain the way people make attributions.<ref name="Kelley 1967" /><ref name="Kelley 1973" /> This model helped to explain how people choose to attribute a behavior to an internal disposition versus an environmental factor. Kelley used the term 'covariation' to convey that when making attributions, people have access to information from many observations, across different situations, and at many time points; therefore, people can observe the way a behavior varies under these different conditions and draw conclusions based on that context. He proposed three factors that influence the way individuals explain behavior: 
* Consensus: The extent to which other people behave in the same way. There is high consensus when most people behave consistent with a given action/actor. Low consensus is when not many people behave in this way.
* Consistency: The extent to which a person usually behaves in a given way. There is high consistency when a person almost always behaves in a specific way. Low consistency is when a person almost never behaves like this.
* Distinctiveness: The extent to which an actor's behavior in one situation is different from his/her behavior in other situations. There is high distinctiveness when an actor does not behave this way in most situations. Low distinctiveness is when an actor usually behaves in a particular way in most situations.

Kelley proposed that people are more likely to make dispositional attributions when consensus is low (most other people do not behave in the same way), consistency is high (a person behaves this way across most situations), and distinctiveness is low (a person's behavior is not unique to this situation). Alternatively, situational attributions are more likely reached when consensus is high, consistency is low, and distinctiveness is high.<ref name="Kelley 1973">{{cite journal | last1 = Kelley | first1 = H.H. | year = 1973 | title = The processes of causal attribution | journal = American Psychologist | volume = 28 | issue = 2| pages = 107–128 | doi = 10.1037/h0034225 }}</ref> His research helped to reveal the specific mechanisms underlying the process of making attributions.