3: Social Perception - Attribution & Attitudes Flashcards
What is attribution?
The process where we come up with causal explanations for others behaviour or our own
Who came up with naive scientist theory?
Heider
What is naive scientist theory?
People are naturally orientated towards causal thinking as we have a need to predict and control
A tendency to search for stable and enduring properties
What are the main assumptions of naive scientist theory?
A tendency to assume behaviour is motivated
Searching for stable and enduring properties of the world
Distinguishing between external and internal explanations for behaviour
Who came up with the correspondent inferences theory?
Jones and Davis
What is the correspondent inferences theory?
We use other people’s behaviour as a basis for inferring their stable dispositions
5 sources of information
According to correspondent inferences theory, what 5 sources of information do we use to infer people’s stable dispositions?
Freely chosen behaviour: Is their behaviour by their own will?
Non-common effects: Are they behaving normally?
Social desirability: Is their behaviour socially desirable?
Relevance to us
Intention to affect us
According to correspondent inferences theory, what information do we gain about people’s disposition from their freely chosen behaviour?
Are they being pressured to behave a certain way?
If their behaviour is completely freely-chosen, we infer it’s because of their disposition
According to correspondent inferences theory, what information do we gain about people’s disposition from non-common effects?
Are they behaving normally?
If they’re being abnormal, it gives us a lot more information about a person
According to correspondent inferences theory, what information do we gain about people’s disposition from social desirability?
We learn more about disposition if they’re behaving undesirably
Who came up with the covariation model?
Kelley
What is the covariation model?
To develop theories about people’s behaviour, we search for two things that happen together
We use 3 bits of information to decide if it was internally or externally caused:
Consistency
Consensus
Distinctiveness
What 3 bits of information do we use to determind if behaviour is externally or internally caused according to the covariation model?
Consistency: Does the person act the same way to a stimulus every time?
Consensus: Do other people act the same way to the stimulus?
Distinctiveness: How do people act when presented with stimuli that are similar but not the same?
What are the weaknesses of the covariation model?
Wrongly assumes that our actions are always intentional
Assumes we always have all the information needed to attribute behaviour to internal or external causes
What dimensions do we consider when making an attribution?
Internal or external cause
Stable (Like disposition) or unstable (Like personality)
To what extent is it under the person’s control?
What is correspondence bias?
This is the tendency to overestimate the extent to which people’s behaviour is due to internal factors and underestimate the role of situational factors
What is fundamental attribution error?
Overestimating the importance of the actor and underestimating the situation
What is actor observer bias?
We are more likely to attribute other people’s behaviour to themselves and consider it to be more stable and predictable than our own
Tendency to think that if others make mistakes, it’s their fault but if we make mistakes, it’s situational.
What is ultimate attribution error?
Tendency to see whole groups that we’re not a member of as similar and having negative dispositions
Tendency to explain negative outgroup behaviour internally and positive outgroup behaviour as externally
Who came up with the idea of ultimate attribution error?
Pettigrew
What are the reasons for ultimate attribution error?
Cognitive factors: Behaviour is more attention-grabbing than the background
Motivational factors: Preserve our own positive identity
Cultural factors: The explanations we produce depend on culture
How can motivational factors be used to explain the ultimate attribution error?
We explain the world in ways that preserve our own positive identity
How can cultural factors be used to explain the ultimate attribution error?
Explanations we produce depend on culture
How can cognitive factors be used to explain the ultimate attribution error?
Behaviour is more salient than background so we assume behaviour is internal instead of external
We have more information about ourselves than the outgroup
What is W.E.I.R.D?
Bias in psychology towards using certain participants
Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democratic
Why is participant bias (WEIRD) a problem?
Individualist cultures are mainly used but they are more self-serving than collectivist cultures so theories can’t be applied to both
What is an attitude?
A tendency to evaluate something with a degree of favour or disfavour
What do attitudes effect?
Beliefs
Feelings
Behavioural tendencies
What is the three componant model of attitudes?
Affective: Feelings about the object
Behavioural: Predisposition to act towards the object in a certain way
Cognitive: Beliefs about the object
What is the affective componant of the three componant model of attitudes?
Our feelings about the object
What is the behavioural componant of the three componant model of attitudes?
Our predisposition to behave in a certain way towards the object
What is the cognitive componant of the three componant model of attitudes?
Our beliefs about an object
What are the functions of attitudes according to Katz?
Value-expressive: Expressing something we believe is important to us
Instrumental: Some attitudes have a goal and help us make sense of the world
Ego-defensive: Protecting our self-esteem
Knowledge
What is the value expressive function of attitudes according to Katz?
Expressing something we think is important to us
What is the instrumental function of attitudes according to Katz?
Some attitudes have a goal and help us make sense of the world
What is the ego defensive function of attitudes according to Katz?
Protecting our self esteem
What is cognitive balance theory?
Balance is assessed by counting the number and types of relationships between elements (8 possible combinations)
If there is an odd number of relationships (Positive v Negative) then it’s unbalanced. We are motivated to acheive balance by changing whichever attitude is easiest
What are the three componants of balance theory?
Person
Others
Attitude
Are all attitudes related to behaviour?
No.
Specific attitudes predict behaviour more than general ones
Stronger attitudes are more linked with behaviour
How can attitudes and behaviour vary?
Accessibility (of attitude and how easy the behaviour is to perform)
Public vs private expression
How normative that attitude is in our group
What is the theory of reasoned action?
Attitudes are more likely to predict behaviour if we first have the intention to act
