Me 4.1 Attribution Theory and Person Perception Flashcards
person perception
the process of forming impressions and making judgments about other individuals based on their physical appearance, behaviour, and other observable characteristics.
attributions
How we explain the causes of events
attribution theory
the theory that we explain someone’s behaviour by crediting either the situation (a situational attribution)
or the person’s stable, enduring traits (a dispositional attribution).
Dispositional Attributions
Relate to internal qualities
Example: Attributing lateness to someone’s laziness or personality
Situational Attributions
Relate to external circumstances
Example: Attributing lateness to heavy traffic or a delayed train
fundamental attribution error
fundamental attribution error the tendency for observers, when analysing others’ behaviour, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.
Explanatory style
the style of how people explain good and bad events in their lives and others’
Optimistic Explanatory Style
Attributing positive events to
internal factors and negative events to external factors
Example: Believing success is due to one’s own effort and failure due to bad luck
Pessimistic Explanatory Style
Attributing negative events
to internal factors and positive events to external factors
Example: Believing failure is due to personal flaws and success due to luck
Actor/Observer Bias
Tendency to attribute our own actions to situational factors, but others’ actions to dispositional factors
Self-Serving Bias
Attributing our successes to internal factors and failures to external factors
Prejudice
an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves negative emotions, stereotyped beliefs, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.
stereotype
a generalised (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralised) belief about a group of people. They reduce the cognitive load.
discrimination
Unjustifiable negative behaviours to a group or its members
Explicit
conscious
Implict
unconscious
just-world phenomenon
The tendency for people to believe that the world is just, and people get what they deserve.
ingroup
us- people with whom we share a common identity.
outgroup
“them”— those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.
ingroup bias
the tendency to favour our own group.
Scapegoat theory
The theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.
other-race effect
The tendency that people are able to recall faces of one’s own race better than that of others’
ethnocentrism
the practice of regarding one’s own ethnic, racial, or social group as the centre of all things.
outgroup homogeneity
the tendency for people to view members of outgroups as being more alike than members of the group they belong to
Hindsight bias
when you think you knew something all along after the outcome has occurred
Upward Comparison
Comparing oneself to those who are better off
Example: Comparing to a more successful peer
Downward Comparison
Comparing oneself to those who are worse off
Example: Comparing to someone less successful
Relative Deprivation
Feeling deprived based on comparisons
Example: Feeling less satisfied with one’s income when others earn more
