In social psychology, attribution theory was developed to explain how people interpret and explain the behavior of other people.

Introduction / Context:
Attribution theory is an important concept in social psychology that focuses on how people make sense of the social world. Whenever we see someone act in a certain way, we naturally try to explain why they did it. This question asks about the main purpose for which attribution theory was developed, which is central to understanding human social perception and judgment.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The topic is social psychology and theories about human behavior.
• Attribution theory deals with explanations for behavior.
• The options mention several different social psychology ideas such as self disclosure, social facilitation, social loafing, and loss of self awareness in groups.
• We assume standard textbook definitions of these concepts.

Concept / Approach:
Attribution theory explains how people decide whether behavior is caused by internal factors, such as traits and attitudes, or by external factors, such as situations and social pressure. In simple terms, it is about how we answer the question “Why did this person behave like that”. The correct option must clearly refer to explanations for the behavior of people. Other options describe different social psychology topics, not the core idea of attribution theory.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick check with basic definitions confirms that attribution theory studies internal attributions, such as personality and motives, and external attributions, such as situations and luck. All of these are about how observers explain behavior. None of the other options focus on explanation of behavior, so the answer choice remains consistent with standard textbook explanations.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option b is wrong because it describes self disclosure, which is about sharing personal information, not about explaining behavior.
• Option c is wrong because social facilitation and social loafing are performance changes due to the presence of others, not about causal explanations.
• Option d is wrong because loss of self awareness in groups refers to deindividuation, which deals with group influence, not attribution.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse different social psychology terms because they are all related to behavior in groups or relationships. A common mistake is to pick an option that sounds familiar, like social facilitation or deindividuation, without checking whether it really answers the question of “what was this theory designed to explain”. Remember that attribution is about causes and explanations, while other theories may focus on performance, self concept, or group effects.

Final Answer:
How people explain and interpret the behavior of other people