Lesson 1 - Attributions & Errors

Question 1

Social Psychology

Answer 1

The branch of psychology that deals with social interactions, including their origins and their effects on the individual.

Question 2

Attributions

Answer 2

An area of social psychology that deals with how people explain the causes of their behaviour and the behaviour of others.
The cause may be environmental, a situational attribution. Or it may be internal, a dispositional attribution such as a trait.

Question 3

Dispositional Attributions

Answer 3

Infers a person’s behaviour is due to an internal cause such as a personality trait, some motive, or other lasting characteristics of that individual
- Unique characteristics that influence behavior and actions in an individual

Question 4

Situational Attributions

Answer 4

Behavior that is attributed to external factors.
- Ex. seeing a happy face might cue one to feel happy, or smelling baked cookies might cue one to feel hungry.

Question 5

False Consensus Effect

Answer 5

The tendency to overestimate how much others agree with us
- the tendency to assume that one’s own opinions, beliefs, attributes, or behaviours are more widely shared than is actually the case.

Question 6

Fundamental Attribution Theory

Answer 6

The tendency people have to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors in judging others’ behaviour.
- We tend to believe that others do bad things because they are bad people.

Question 7

Individualism

Answer 7

Believes that people should focus on the aspects that set them apart from others, rather than those aspects that are shared with everyone else.
- Individuality is the expression of one’s own beliefs and preferences, rather than conforming to what others expect.

Question 8

Collectivism

Answer 8

The tendency to view oneself as a member of a larger (family or social) group, rather than as an isolated, independent being

Question 9

Just World Bias

Answer 9

Our belief that the world is fair, and consequently, that the moral standings of our actions will determine our outcomes.
- This viewpoint causes us to believe that those who do good will be rewarded, and those who exhibit negative behaviours will be punished.

Question 10

Halo Effect

Answer 10

A form of cognitive bias—a heuristic (or mental shortcut) that causes us to make snap judgments.

Question 11

Mere Exposure

Answer 11

Our tendency to develop preferences for things simply because we are familiar with them.
- Known as the familiarity principle.