The discussion of explanations in previous chapters has on many issues suggested the relevance of a critical perspective. This perspective in psychology is linked to dialectical models, which emphasize the importance of contradiction and conflict in relationships and cognition (e.g., Buss, 1979a; Riegel, 1979; Rychlak, 1976). This chapter discusses conflict in explanations and cognitions, exploring dialectical perspectives but also considering a range of other approaches. The discussion revolves around the concept of discounting, which holds that people discount explanations of actions when alternative explanations are available. The chapter reviews the discounting concept, research relating to discounting, and concepts that have quite different implications concerning people's perception of alternative explanations.

The discounting principle

Numerous researchers have claimed that people discount a cause for an action when alternative causes are present (e.g., Einhorn and Hogarth, 1983; Hansen and Hall, 1985; Jones and Davis, 1965; Kruglanski, Schwartz, Maides and Hamel, 1978; Rosenfield and Stephan, 1977). Kelley (1972a) advanced the discounting concept from an isolated commonsense notion to a formal proposition that relates to other theories of social perception. The discounting principle complements Kelley's covariation model, which deals with attributions based on large amounts of causal information, and which proposes that attributions reflect the covariation in that information (Kelley, 1967).