attribution Flashcards
attribution research
attribution research tends to cluster around a central proposition: that people’s perception of the causes of an event affects what they do and how they feel
measurements of attributions
Liket Scales:
what is the single most important cause of… good scores on your test
Females - external attributions
Males - Internal attributions
Consequences of Attributions
couples w marital distress tend to attribute partner’s negative behaviour to internal characteristics - should make increased external attributes
following accidents, individuals who thought they were to blame somehow spent 30 days in hospital (internal) yet those who did not think this (external) spent 20 days = internal negative type attributes impair recovery
Optimistic & Pessimistic attributional styles
- appear to be correlated w death
pessimistic = internal factors to blame
optimistic = external factors to blame
how we interpret early life events can affect us later…
men who explained negative events through reference to their own internal attributions tend to have significantly poorer health (45-60yr olds)
attributional styles are -
learned, you can train yourself
self-esteem attributions are linked to self esteem in 2 ways:
1: if we behave positively/ successfully and then attribute to our own internal qualities we can achieve self - esteem
2: if we behave negatively/ fail and then attribute to the same internal qualities we can suffer a decrease in self - esteem
attributions can enhance control:
if we attribute our success to our internal characteristics, we may believe that we are in control
is the control function of attributions always positive?
no - victim blaming (aids, cancer, rape)
intrapersonal level of analysis
focuses on how individuals analyse info and come to make an attribution - ‘correspondence inference’
Kelley: claims that information can be derived from sources indicating consensus, consistency, distinctiveness
interpersonal level of analysis
focuses on face to face attributions - no longer seen as rational
The Actor Observer Effect - attribute own actions to external factors and others to their internal factors
The Self Serving Bias - people take credit for their success but not failures
Intergroup level of analysis
examine the way in which group members of different groups explain behaviour
Hunter et al. Catholics and Protestants explain instance of their violence
Societal Level of analysis
Miller: individuals from western cultures favour dispositional explanations whereas individuals from non-western cultures favour environmental explanations
Proximity & Propinquity
we are more likely to befriend/ like people who are in close proximity
McKnight: 83% Aus met ‘special partner’ in familiar social setting, 6% in casual social setting
Zajonc - The Mere Exposure Effect
repeated exposure to any stimulus makes it more appealing
evidence for Zajonc
Mita et al. claimed that if it was merely repeated exposure to a stimulus that enhanced our liking, then we should prefer photos of our faces reversed, and our friends should prefer a normal photo instead
results support this idea (70%)
Reis - proximity
Proximity does not always work as there are other factors that lead to antagonism
if the initial interaction is negative, and this experience is reinforced - dislike occurs
how does emotional arousal relate to attributions?
research indicates that people who are emotionally aroused rate others as more attractive
White et al. found that men who ran on the spot rated women as more attractive
Dutton & Aaron: people expecting electric shocks rated opposite sex as more attractive
Emotional Arousal Attribution - evidence
Dutton & Aaron
Those who crosses a deep ravine on narrow rope bridge were more likely to ask for a date (of the women they met on bridge as they were more emotionally aroused)
People attribute butterflies in stomach to the other person not their anxious emotions
Is physical attractiveness important in relation ships?
Yes, although people generally refuse to admit it.
Walk et al. out of 32 desirable traits for partners, men ranked physical appearance 12th and women 22nd
Walster et al. measured reaction to partners blind dates and attractiveness by independent observers. Results showed that more attractive you were rated by observers, more liked by your date.
Gender differences - on importance of physical appearance
men: (both gay/ straight) focussed on physical attractiveness of potential partners
women: (both lesbian/ straight) focussed on psychological characteristics
Whipple: 90% men say yes to sex when asked by an attractive women, 10% of women do - when vice versa
Benefits to attractiveness…
- adults less aggressive to attractive children
- attractive people more likely to be hired
- attractive students more likely to get better grades
Ravin & Rubin: more likely to be pronounced dead if you are ugly
Cultural Effects on Beauty
Ingleby: fat and diseased child, by Western standards, are considered beautiful in other cultures
Many studies have shown that people tend to be attracted to others, similar to themselves
