Capability Based Decision Model of Attribution: Empirical Development in Iran

Abstract

This study aims to improve the reliability of existing attribution processes by developing a decision model that is inspired by Sen's (1999) Capability Approach (CA) and Weiner’s (1995) Attribution Theory. The model is intended to provide a more complete representation of the decision maker’s state of self-determination, than currently is possible, as it influences their decisions. This paper presents the theoretical model and discusses the empirical development of the model from a process of ten semi-structured interviews with young adult employees. By applying thematic analysis, 11 significant themes were identified: Freedom Awareness, Third-Party Evaluation, First-Party Evaluation, Ontology of Attribution, Impact of Commodities, Impact of Affective State, Awareness of Affective State, Teleological, Causal, Correlational, and Logical reasoning. Our significant finding is that all of these themes collectively help specify one’s self-determinism from two different perspectives, which suggests that people have different levels of awareness of these factors as they influence decision making behaviour.