Exam 2: Attributions Flashcards
Attribution Theory
- Process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events
- Attribution: way in which people explain the causes they assign to their own and other people’s behavior
- By understanding past behavior, we can protect ourselves and predict future behavior
Heider (Attribution Theory)
- Father of Attribution Theory
- Claimed there’s a distinction between dispositional and environmental causes
- Dispositional: personal, internal
- Environmental: situational, external
Internal Attribution (Heider, Attribution Theory)
Inference that a person is behaving in a certain way because of attitude, character, or personality
External Attribution (Heider, Attribution Theory)
Inference that a person is behaving a certain way because of the situation he or she is in
Implications for Self-Esteem (Heider, Attribution Theory)
- Increased dispositional attribution for success
- Decreased dispositional attribution for failure
- No increase (maybe decrease) in situational attribution for success
- No decrease (maybe increase) in situational attribution for failure
- To protect our self-esteem (last two bullets)
Correspondent Inference Theory (Attribution Theory)
- Focuses on WHICH dispositional attribution to make
- Dispositional attribution corresponds to…
a. actions with unique effects (fewer reasons for behavior) - more likely to make dispositional attributions
b. effects that are low in assumed desirability (not normative) - most people won’t behave this way
Assumed Desirability (Corres. Inference Theory, Attribution Theory)
Low - not normative, most people don’t behave this way ex: tell senior citizen they’ll wipe out social security
High - normative, most people behave this way
ex: tell senior citizen they’ll keep social security
Kelly’s Covariation Model (Attribution Theory)
- Looks across a variety of occasions to infer the cause of behavior
- 3 causes: subject (internal), object (external), & situation
- 3 sources of information for each cause
a. consensus (how do other people respond?)
b. consistency (does the behavior change across situations?)
c. distinctiveness (Is the behavior unique to the cause?)
ex: John loves his steak after taking the SAT’s
Subject: John’s a happy person
-Low consensus, high consistency, low distinctiveness
Object: steak was really good
-High consensus, high consistency, high distinctiveness
Situation: SAT’s are tiring
-High consensus, low consistency, low distinctiveness
Attributional Biases
- Put limitations on cognitive processes
- Cause us to have motivation to appear good and feel in control
Why? Fundamental Attribution Error or FAE (Attributional Biases)
- “Behavior engulfs the field” (situation isn’t salient/noticeable)
- Functional (describing by personality helps us determine behavior)
Perceptual Salience (Fundamental Att. Error, Attributional Biases)
- Actor A & B are talking in center
- 3 observers (one looking at A, B, and both)
- Ask “which person took charge of the conversation?”
- Chose person that observer can see (FAE)
- Shows us that perspective affects how we see behavior
Cultural Influences (Fund. Att. Error, Attributional Biases)
West -Analytical thinking -Emphasis on individual -Prefer dispositional attributions East -Consider situation -Not as likely to make FAE
Actor Observer Effect (Attributional Biases)
- Part of FAE
- For others: attribute behavior to internal causes (underestimate situation)
- For self: attribute behavior to external causes (overestimate situation)
Why?
- Difference in perspective (personal salience/noticeable)
- Difference in information (what you know about others and yourself)
Self-Serving Bias (Attributional Biases)
- Taking credit for successes and blaming situation/others for failures
- Less likely to act this way if improvement in situation is possible
Why?
- To maintain self-esteem
- Difference in information
- Cultural differences
Egocentric Bias (Attributional Biases)
-Overestimating our contributions to something
