attribution Flashcards
what is attribution theory?
when our perceptions and judgments of a person and their actions are influenced by the assumptions that we make
who is targeted in attribution bias?
fundamental attribution error towards others
self- serving bias towards ourselves
what is the attribution of attribution bias?
fundamental attribution error- by intrinsic nature
self- serving bias- by external factors
what are the causes of attribution bias?
fundamental attribution error- lack of information of external factors
self- serving bias- to protect self- esteem
what is cognitive bias?
if something goes right we put responsibility on our selves to boost our ego. if something goes wrong, we blame anyone and anything but ourselves
what 4 things were Heiders attribution theory based on?
- we are ‘naive psychologists’ using ‘common sense’
- own behaviour is motivated so other peoples must be
- attempt to find cause and effect: causal theories enable prediction and control- look for stable factors
- based on internal or external factors: dispositional attribution (internal), situational attribution (external)
what is dispositional attribution?
cause of given behaviour is assigned to individual’s characteristics such as ability, personality, mood, efforts, attitudes or disposition
what is situational attribution?
cause of given behaviour is assigned to situation in which the behaviour was seen such as environment, task, luck, or other people
what is internal and external locus of control?
internal- outcomes within a person’s control such as ability, motivation, traits, characteristics, effort
external- outcomes outside a person’s control such as situation, task difficulty
what is a stable and unstable locus of control?
stable- permanent and unchanging factors such as ability, task difficult
unstable- temporary factors that can be changed such as effort, motivation, luck
what is controllability? (under/ out of control)
controllability- extent to which a person can influence the outcome
under control: skills, effort, motivation
out of control: luck, task difficulty, other’s perspectives
what are the two theories on constraints on processing?
- cognitive miser- reduce effort and energy, create shortcuts, conserves energy
- motivated tactician- strategic rather than limited, filter out the unnecessary, focus on salient
what is correspondence bias?
tendency to draw inferences about someone’s personality based on their behaviours, even when these behaviours can be completely explained by the situation
what is the false consensus effect?
we assume that other people behave more like us than they actually do. same for opinions, attitudes and beiefs
what reasons do biases exist for?
- assuming control over physical and social world
- promotes self- esteem
- self- presentation
