Attribution theory: Wiener and his colleagues developed Hyde's attribution theory in 1972. Weiner believes that internal and external causes are only one aspect of attribution judgment, and another aspect should be added, that is, the temporary-stable aspect. These two aspects are both important and independent. Temporary stability is very important for forming expectations and predicting future success or failure. For example, if we think that A's excellent work is caused by stable factors such as his strong ability or easy task, then we can expect that he will do well if he is given the same task in the future. If we think that his success is caused by temporary factors such as his good mood or good opportunities, then we won't expect him to do well in the future.

People can attribute behavior to many factors, but no matter what the factors are, they can mostly be classified into four categories: internal factors-external factors and temporary-stability.