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Two experiments were conducted to examine the interrelation of the attributional principles of covariation, discounting, and augmentation. In Experiment 1 the presence (vs. absence) of covariation information was manipulated orthogonally to the number of plausible causes for an effect (one vs. two). In Experiment 2 the number of plausible causes for an effect (one vs. two) was manipulated orthogonally to the presence (vs. absence) of an inhibitory factor. The major findings of this research were interpreted to mean that the covariation principle may be appHed concomitantly with the discounting principle and that the latter principle pertains to a different aspect of the attributional process than does the augmentation principle. Implications of these findings for the further development of attribution theory were considered.Attribution theory (Kelley, 1967) is concerned with the manner in which persons analyze cause-effect relations. Kelley (1971) has suggested that in carrying out such analyses the naive attributor rehes on a number of principles. The purpose of the research reported herein was to clarify the theoretical relations among three such principles, covariation, discounting, and augmentation, and to explicate the role of each principle in the attribution process. Covariation and DiscountingThe covariation principle states that "an effect is attributed to the one of its possible causes with which, over time, it covaries"

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