Attributions about the causes and consequences of cataclysmic events

Abstract

Basic to the study of disasters and other life crises are questions about how victims and observers make sense of the event. Attribution theory, which describes how and why people ascribe causes to events and behaviors, can provide a useful framework for helping researchers in their quest to understand how and why victims and observers respond as they do to cataclysmic events. In spite of its clear potential for guiding research, surprisingly few studies looking at disaster and nearly no studies of terrorism have used an attributional perspective. While other negative life crises have been studied, cataclysmic events such as disasters and terrorist attacks possess distinctive features that set them apart from other types of trauma. Because of differences in degree of consensus, perceived control, and intentionality, cataclysmic events offer attribution researchers a unique arena in which to test and clarify basic assumptions. This article reveiws the work done in the field and outlines areas of concern for future efforts.