Attribution theory/self-attribution Flashcards
Who is Heider and what did he believe about attributions?
Heider (1958), a Phenomenologist, believed that people are naive psychologists. He believed that traits could be divided into 2 categories - internal (stable) and external (unstable).
In order to infer causality, we have to observe what individuals do and decide whether they are explicable by internal or external causes
Jones and Davis 1965 cemented what principle/theory?
- Discounting principle
- The idea that we ‘discount’ the meaning of a behaviour (and so infer internal causality) when the behaviour is
- Not externally explained
- Unique, non-common, effects
Kelley - Three Dimensional Covariation?
That an effect is attributed to the one of its possible causes with which, over time, it covaries.
- Consistency: how often does John do this in this situation?
- Consensus: what do other people do in this situation?
- Distinctiveness: does John do this in other situations?
Ross, Amabile, and Steinmetz study?
Observers observe a quiz show format activity.
Observer, questioner, and contestant estimate general knowledge of the questioner and the contestant
Results
- All rate questioner as having more knowledge (observers made the largest error, questioner made smallest error)
- Attributors underestimate the power of situational constraints
What kind of biases are we subject to while making attributions?
- Cognitive - limited cognitive capacity, rely on shortcuts
- Motivational - we are not neutral towards discovering the truth
Actor-observer effect?
- Tend to explain our actions very different when compared to the actions of other people
- Ourselves: external attributions; others: internal attributions
- Less likely to commit if looking at self in mirror
Taylor and Fiske’s study involved what?
- 6 participants (observers) observe 2 people’s conversation all from different angles
- Observers rated whichever actor they were facing as higher in causal role (more influential in interaction)
- Those who face both actor A and B had similar mean ratings for causal role for Actor A and Actor B
Taylor and Fiske’s study demonstrated _____
Salience effects
What are some motivated attribution biases/biasing factors?
Lerner: The just world bias
Wishful seeing
Need for self esteem
Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory ?of Emotion
- Emotional experience is not directly observed but has to be inferred
- Physiological arousal, then seek an appropriate an explanation for it
Valins 1966 study?
- Male students look at Playboy photos
- ‘Physiological experiments’, feedback about HR
- However audio was manipulated, experimenter controlled HR
Nisbett and Schachter 1966 study?
- Placebo or arousal pill (but in actual fact both placebo)
- Then electric shocks
- DV: how painful rate, threshold
- Pill group: individuals attributed arousal to pill (rather than to pain), much more able to tolerate shocks
Storms & Nisbett, 1975 study?
- Insomnia
- Placebo pills: aroused or sedated
- Aroused placebo went to sleep easier
- They had something to attribute arousal to
Zillman 1978 study demonstrated?
Excitation transfer.
Zillman 1978 study involved…
Participants watched arousing film.
- Much more likely to be angry after arousing films if insulted by experimenter
- Arousal from film transferred to experimenter
Types of self-attributions
- Attribution of emotion
- Attribution of cognition
- Attribution of behaviour/motivation
Which study suggested that people don’t actually know what they’re thinking?
Nisbett and Wilson 1978
What did the Nisbett and Wilson 1978 study involve?
- Make consumer choices between same quality things
- Individuals unable to report mental process
- Gave fictitious accounts
- Actually determined by sequence
- Brings into question the universal assumption that we have will
Psychological reactance was demonstrated by…
Bem.
- Asked people how much they value particular amenities in their lives; asked again after they lose them
- People overvalue what is lost
What did Berglas and Jones study show?
handicapping.
- Placebo drugs - inhibit or enhance performance
- 2 situations - expecting to succeed or expecting to fail
- A majority of people choose handicapping drug if expecting to fail, but more people chose performance drug if expecting to succeed
Self-Perception Theory is…
The theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behaviour and the situation in which it occurs
What are self-serving attributions?
Explanations for one’s success that credit internal, dispositional factors; Explanations for one’s failures blame external, situational factors
What is the purpose of self-serving attributions?
- Depressed v non-pressed people
- Nondepressed group
- Positive events attributed to internal, stable/lasting causes
- Negative events attributed to external, temporary causes
- Depressed group
- Show opposite trend
- Self defeating attributional style
- Nondepressed group
Which attribution errors do cross cultural differences exist in?
Cross cultural differences exist in the Actor-Observer Effect and in Self-Serving and Defensive Attributions
