lecture 7 Flashcards
fundamental attribution: error/correspondence bias
tendency to infer that people’s behavior matches their internal disposition (personality, attitude)
why is it called a fundamental attribution error?
because we overestimate internal and underestimate external
why is the fundamental attribution error sometimes called correspondence bias?
because it is not always an error- sometimes behavior is disposition caused
what is the actor-observer bias?
the tendency to see other people’s behavior as internally caused- but focusing more on the situation to explain our own behavior
example of actor observer difference
writers to advice columns attribute their troubles overwhelmingly to the situation, but the advice giver attributes the problem to the person
what is the role of perceptual salience?
people are often the focus, not the situation. we pay attention to them more than the situation
How did Taylor & Fiske (1975) show the importance of perceptual salience?
-had 2 students “get acquainted” in conversation
-had 4 observers in different position and then were asked who led the conversation
(people who had direct view of either one observer said they led the conversation)
attributions for when:
- couple is happy
- attribution style is relationship enhancing
- partner’s behavior is positive
attributions are:
- internal
- stable
- global
attributions for when:
- couple is happy
- attribution style is relationship enhancing
- partner’s behavior is negative
attributions are:
- external
- unstable
- specific
attributions for when:
- couple is unhappy
- attribution style is distress maintaining
- partner’s behavior is positive
attributions are:
- external
- unstable
- specific
attributions for when:
- couple is unhappy
- attribution style is distress maintaining
- partner’s behavior is negative
attributions are:
- internal
- stable
- global
judgmental heuristics
mental shortcuts people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently
(they usually lead to good decisions in a reasonable amount of time)
availability heuristic
mental rule of thumb whereby people base a judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind
problems with the availability heuristic?
problematic when what is easiest to remember is not necessarily typical of the overall picture
- more vivid and memorable events are more available
- sometimes the difficulty in recall stems from other causes
base rate information
information about the relative frequency of different events or group members in the population
problem with base rate info?
we often ignore base rate information when we use availability and representativeness
what is attitude?
favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something
ways to measure attitude:
-attitude scales
or when attitude is controversial, embarrassing, or socially “normed” we use bogus pipeline and covert or implicit measures
do attitudes determine behavior?
not so much
when does attitude likely determine behavior?
- when we feel free (or forced) to express true attitude
- when we look at aggregated behavior
- when we examine attitudes for specific behaviors
- when we are made self conscious
what is self-monitoring?
being attuned to the way one presents oneself and adjusting one’s behavior to create the desired impression
(an individual difference characteristic)
What do high self monitors show in comparison with low self-monitors?
high self-monitors show LESS attitude-behavior consistency than low self-monitors
examples of how “doing or saying can become believing”
- role playing
- foot in the door phenomenon
cognitive dissonance theory
when we are aware of two inconsistent cognitions, we experience arousal
“when we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them by looking at our own behavior” is what theory?
self perception theory
in the cognitive dissonance theory, when people experience dissonance, they have options to:
- change behavior
- justify the behavior by adding new cognitions
- justify behavior through changing the dissonant cognition
what is the insufficient justification effect?
reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one’s behavior when external justification is insufficient
Explain post-decision dissonance
-dissonance aroused after making decision in which you exaggerate positive features of the chosen alternative and the negative features of the other alternative(s)
what is “justification of effort”?
tendency to increase liking for something once you have worked hard for it (initiation into a group)
how is cognitive dissonance different from self-perception?
cognitive dissonance applies to many more situations and explains attitude change
how is self perception theory different from cognitive dissonance?
self perception theory applies to more limited situations and mainly explains attitude formation
