lecture 7

Question 1

fundamental attribution: error/correspondence bias

Answer 1

tendency to infer that people’s behavior matches their internal disposition (personality, attitude)

Question 2

why is it called a fundamental attribution error?

Answer 2

because we overestimate internal and underestimate external

Question 3

why is the fundamental attribution error sometimes called correspondence bias?

Answer 3

because it is not always an error- sometimes behavior is disposition caused

Question 4

what is the actor-observer bias?

Answer 4

the tendency to see other people’s behavior as internally caused- but focusing more on the situation to explain our own behavior

Question 5

example of actor observer difference

Answer 5

writers to advice columns attribute their troubles overwhelmingly to the situation, but the advice giver attributes the problem to the person

Question 6

what is the role of perceptual salience?

Answer 6

people are often the focus, not the situation. we pay attention to them more than the situation

Question 7

How did Taylor & Fiske (1975) show the importance of perceptual salience?

Answer 7

-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)

Question 8

attributions for when:

• couple is happy
• attribution style is relationship enhancing
• partner’s behavior is positive

Answer 8

attributions are:

• internal
• stable
• global

Question 9

attributions for when:

• couple is happy
• attribution style is relationship enhancing
• partner’s behavior is negative

Answer 9

attributions are:

• external
• unstable
• specific

Question 10

attributions for when:

• couple is unhappy
• attribution style is distress maintaining
• partner’s behavior is positive

Answer 10

attributions are:

• external
• unstable
• specific

Question 11

attributions for when:

• couple is unhappy
• attribution style is distress maintaining
• partner’s behavior is negative

Answer 11

attributions are:

• internal
• stable
• global

Question 12

judgmental heuristics

Answer 12

mental shortcuts people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently
(they usually lead to good decisions in a reasonable amount of time)

Question 13

availability heuristic

Answer 13

mental rule of thumb whereby people base a judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind

Question 14

problems with the availability heuristic?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

base rate information

Answer 15

information about the relative frequency of different events or group members in the population

Question 16

problem with base rate info?

Answer 16

we often ignore base rate information when we use availability and representativeness

Question 17

what is attitude?

Answer 17

favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something

Question 18

ways to measure attitude:

Answer 18

-attitude scales
or when attitude is controversial, embarrassing, or socially “normed” we use bogus pipeline and covert or implicit measures

Question 19

do attitudes determine behavior?

Answer 19

not so much

Question 20

when does attitude likely determine behavior?

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

what is self-monitoring?

Answer 21

being attuned to the way one presents oneself and adjusting one’s behavior to create the desired impression
(an individual difference characteristic)

Question 22

What do high self monitors show in comparison with low self-monitors?

Answer 22

high self-monitors show LESS attitude-behavior consistency than low self-monitors

Question 23

examples of how “doing or saying can become believing”

Answer 23

• role playing

- foot in the door phenomenon

Question 24

cognitive dissonance theory

Answer 24

when we are aware of two inconsistent cognitions, we experience arousal

Question 25

“when we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them by looking at our own behavior” is what theory?

Answer 25

self perception theory

Question 26

in the cognitive dissonance theory, when people experience dissonance, they have options to:

Answer 26

• change behavior
• justify the behavior by adding new cognitions
• justify behavior through changing the dissonant cognition

Question 27

what is the insufficient justification effect?

Answer 27

reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one’s behavior when external justification is insufficient

Question 28

Explain post-decision dissonance

Answer 28

-dissonance aroused after making decision in which you exaggerate positive features of the chosen alternative and the negative features of the other alternative(s)

Question 29

what is “justification of effort”?

Answer 29

tendency to increase liking for something once you have worked hard for it (initiation into a group)

Question 30

how is cognitive dissonance different from self-perception?

Answer 30

cognitive dissonance applies to many more situations and explains attitude change

Question 31

how is self perception theory different from cognitive dissonance?

Answer 31

self perception theory applies to more limited situations and mainly explains attitude formation