diff --git a/pyqtgraph/widgets/PlotWidget.py b/pyqtgraph/widgets/PlotWidget.py
index 964307ae..6e10b13a 100644
--- a/pyqtgraph/widgets/PlotWidget.py
+++ b/pyqtgraph/widgets/PlotWidget.py
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ class PlotWidget(GraphicsView):
             m = getattr(self.plotItem, attr)
             if hasattr(m, '__call__'):
                 return m
-        raise NameError(attr)
+        raise AttributeError(attr)
     
     def viewRangeChanged(self, view, range):
         #self.emit(QtCore.SIGNAL('viewChanged'), *args)