Manipulating Attributions for Profit: A Field Test of the Effects of Attributions on Behavior

The present study examined the relation between attributions and subsequent overt behavior in a field setting. The 60 subjects were customers of a pizzeria who were waiting for their pizzas to be delivered. Subjects were told that their pizzas would be delivered early or late, for one of two reasons. Half of the subjects were induced to believe that something about the pizza delivers man was responsible for when the pizza would be delivered (person-attribution condition); the other half were induced to believe that the time of delivery of the pizza was not under the control of the delivery man (situation-attribution condition). It was predicted that customers who made a person attribution would tip more when the pizza arrived early than when it arrived late. Customers making a situation attribution were not expected to tip any more for an early than for a late delivery. The results confirmed these predictions. This study adds its support to the surprisingly small number of studies showing that one's attributions toward others influence one's behavior toward them.