Attributional thoughts about consumer behavior

Two fundamental principles from attribution theory were examined for the ro le they might play in the psychology of the consumer. They are: (1) percept ions of causality along a stability dimension influence the anticipated lik elihood of product satisfaction, and (2) perceptions of causality along a c ontrollability dimension influence judgments of responsibility and retribut ive actions. Comments about the longevity of an attributional framework, me thodological recommendations, and the heuristic value of the theory also ar e included.