misattribution

American  

[mis-a-truh-byoo-shuhn] / ˌmɪsˌæ trəˈbyu ʃən /

noun

plural

misattributions

1. an incorrect attribution, especially in crediting a specific work to the wrong author, artist, etc.

2. Psychology. a psychological process in which someone incorrectly identifies the source of a memory or feeling.

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Example Sentences

While Chinese painters developed this theme as early as the 10th century it became ubiquitous in Korea by the 18th century, hence the longstanding misattribution of the painting as Korean.

From The Wall Street Journal

Every time the Captain corrects Claude's misattribution of a quote or misidentification of an American musician, it feels like a test.

From Salon

Manifestation is another misattribution of cause-and-effect, just with a more positive spin: if I got a promotion, it’s because I put a dollar sign on my vision board.

From Los Angeles Times

George Serafeim, a professor at Harvard Business School, said that blaming the collapse on such initiatives reflected either “a complete lack of understanding of how banks work or the intentional misattribution of causality for the bank’s failure.”

From New York Times

They will be playing whack-a-mole with that misattribution for all future time.

From Slate