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Self Perception Theory

THE BASIC IDEA

The Basic Idea

We typically view the interaction between attitudes and behaviors as a causal sequence that progresses
linearly from attitude to behavior. We might have an attitude towards work ethic, for example, which
would translate into some behavior, like working overtime to get the job done. To assume a reversal in
the sequence of causation; for example, behavior leading to attitude would seem counterintuitive. It can
certainly seem backwards to presume working overtime causes a belief in work ethic, rather than work
ethic causes hard work.

Self perception theory proposes such a causal link. This theory argues that people become aware of
certain attitudes by observing their own behavior. This is the case when internal cues such as sentiment
are unclear, and the individual attributes their attitude or belief to some form of self perception around
their behavior. It is a similar process to how we would infer another individual’s inner state by observing
their behavior.

Consider Dave, a carpenter who works 50 hours a week. Dave has never really stopped to think about
how he feels towards standardized work weeks and labor regulations, or work ethic in general. One
evening, at the bar with some friends, someone mentions the 35-hour work week in France and an
article she read about increased productivity gains at companies who introduced four-day work weeks.
Dave has never heard such talk and doesn’t have any preexisting attitudes towards the concept. When
someone asks what he thinks, he supposes that 40 hours isn’t that much, after all, he tends to work 50.

Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.

– Lionel Robbins describing economic science in terms of scarcity in Essay on the Nature and Significance
of Economic Science (1932).

THEORY, MEET PRACTICE

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psychology and economics to machine learning and behavioral data science—to sculpt targeted
solutions to nuanced problems.

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Key Terms

Cognitive Dissonance: A state of discomfort following information that is inconsistent with one’s existing
attitudes or beliefs. (See more on the concept here.)