Lecture 4- Attribution Flashcards
What is an attribution?
An attribution is the process by which individuals explain the causes of their own or others’ behavior, often categorizing it as either internal (related to personal characteristics) or external (related to situational factors).
How can you measure attributions?
Attributions are measured through Likert scales
How do women and men tend to attribute their success?
women tend to credit external attributions for their success
whereas men tend to credit internal attributions
What did Frey and Rogner (1987) find out about attributions following injuries?
they found that attributions can have a consequence on your physical health.
How long were individuals in hospital for on average, if they thought they were to blame?
Individuals who blamed themselves for being in hospital spent 30 days in there
How long were individuals in hospital for on average, if they thought they were NOT to blame?
individuals who were in hospital but did not think they were to blame spent only 20 days in hospital
What is the optimistic attribution style?
the optimistic attribution style is when individuals do not blame themselves, only the nature for the content
What is the pessimistic attribution style?
individuals blame themselves
How is our self-esteem impacted by attributions?
if we succeed and credit ourselves, this causes our self-esteem to increase
What happens to our self-esteem if we blame ourselves for a negative event or failure?
our self-esteem is impacted and decreases
How does attributions impact control?
attributions can enhance control; however, this is not always positive as it can led to victim blame
What is ‘The Actor-Observer Effect’?
this is when people tend to attribute failures of themselves due to external causes, however other people’s failures are caused by internal attributions
What is ‘The Self-Serving Bias’?
this is when people take credit for their success, but not for their failures
