Attribution Flashcards
Define causal attribution
The processing of signing a cause to an event or behaviour
What are the three dimensions of causal attributions?
Locus of causality, stability, and controllability
What is locus of causality?
Behaviours/events can be attributed to internal causes (dispositional attributes) or external (situational attributions)
What is stability?
Behaviours/events can be attributed to stable causes or unstable causes
What is controllability?
Behaviours/events can be attributed to controllable or uncontrollable causes
Why do we engage in causal attribution?
Attribution theory
What is attribution theory?
Human beings are naive scientists (Heider) motivated by a need to 1) Form a coherent view of the world 2) Be in control of their environment . Basically coming up with simple rational explanations for behaviours and events to make sense of the world
What are the two theories that explain how we engage in attribution?
Correspondent inference theory (Jones and Davis)
Covariation model (Kelley - the most influential)
What is the correspondent inference theory?
Outlines a number of factors influencing whether people make dispositional attributions
1) Choice - did the person freely choose to perform the behaviour
2) Non-common (unique) effects - are the effects of the behaviour relatively unique to that behaviour vs common to many behaviours
3) Social desirability - is the behaviour consistent with social norms
4) Hedonistic relevance - does the behaviour have consequences for you
5) Personalism - was the behaviour intended for you
Why are they called correspondent inferences ?
Because they correspond to disposition
What is an issue with the correspondent inference theory?
It focuses on single instances of behaviour
It focuses on only the processes underlying dispositional attributions
What is the covariation model?
Accounts for both external and internal attributions. Argues that attribution are based on what factors co-occur with the behaviour/event. The model argues that we act like naive scientists and draw on 3 pieces of information about the covariation between the behaviour/event and the person, stimulus and time.
What are the three factors of the covariation model?
Consensus, consistency, distinctiveness
What does consensus mean?
Does everyone behave this way to the stimulus?
What attribution is a low consensus associated with?
Dispositional
What attribution is a high consensus associated with?
Situtional
What does consistency mean?
Does this person behave the same to this stimulus on other occasions?
What attribution is a low consistency associated with?
Situational
What attribution is a high consistency associated with?
Dispositional
What does distinctiveness mean?
Does this person behave the same way to different stimuli
What attribution is a low distinctiveness associated with?
Dispositional
What attribution is a high distinctiveness associated with?
Situational
What are some issues with the covariance model?
We don’t always have information on all the dimensions
Effortful
What is the fundamental attribution error? (Attributional bias)
The tendency to over attribute to the person rather than the situation (ie dispositional over situational)
What are criticisms of the FAE
Cultural differences
(Evidenced by Morris and Peng where American students made significantly higher dispositional attributions and lower situational attributions than Chinese students
What are explanations for the fundamental attribution error?
1) Lack of awareness of situational constraints - ‘when one tries to point to a situation, one often stabs empty air’
2) Unrealistic expectations of behaviour; we’re really bad at identifying how much a situation will affect someone else’s behaviour
3) Incomplete corrections of dispositional inferences; we make dispositional attributions as a default, but may fail to correct for situational influences
What is the actor observer effect?
The tendency to attribute other’s behaviours to dispositional factors and our own behaviour to situational factors
Explanations for the actor-observer effect
1) Perceptual focus; when we observe others behaviour, they themselves (rather than the situational background) draws our attention. However, when we observe our own behaviour, we can’t see ourselves acting, just the situational background.
2) Informational differences; we have far more information about how we behave in different situations than we have information about how others behave in different circumstances
Is the actor observer effect universally observed?
Malle’s meta analaysis showed that the actor observer effect held for negative behaviours but was reversed for positive behaviours
What is the self-serving attribution bias?
Humans interpret the world in a way that serves their purpose - motivated tacticians. Attributing positive events to themselves and negative events to other causes
Explanations for the self-serving bias?
They’re adaptive, they help to maintain and enhance self-esteem, and good mental health,
How universal is self serving attribution bias?
Mezulis et al, meta analysis, 266 studies, found a large self-serving attribution bias
Where is the self-serving bias attenuated in?
1) adolescents and adults (vs. children and older adults)
2) some non-Western cultures (Japanese, Pacific Islanders)
3) samples with mental health disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety disorders)
What is the most well-known method for measuring trait attributional style?
Peterson et al’s 19982 Attributional Style Questionnaire, which categorises style into 3 components
What are the 3 components in the ASQ?
Internal/external, stable/unstable, global/specific
What are attributional styles?
Particular trait tendencies to explain events and behaviours in a particular way, arose from research examining differences in attribution in samples with depression.
