Psychology 6.3 + 6.4: Attribution + Attitudes Flashcards
Attribution
the process by which we explain the cause of our own or another person’s behaviour.
Internal attribution/Personal Attribution:
an explanation of behavior due to the characteristics of the person involved, such as their personality, ability, attitude, motivation, mood, or effort.
External Attribution/Situational Attribution:
An explanation of behaviour due to factors associated with the situation the person is in.
Fundamental Attribution Error/Bias:
The tendency to overestimate the influence of personal factors and underestimate the impact of situational factors on other’s behavior
Saliency bias:
when a person’s behaviour tends to be more noticeable (salient) than the situation in which it is occurring. (leads us to overestimate influence of internal factors, not considering situation because it is in the background)
Just-World Belief/Fallacy:
the belief that the world is a just place in which people generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
Actor-observer bias:
our tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external or situational factors, yet attribute others’ behaviour to internal factors.
Self-serving bias:
The tendency to attribute our positive success to our own internal character/actions/abilities, and attributing our failures to the external factors
Attitude
an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue.
Tri-component model:
proposes that any attitude has three related components — the affective, behavioural and cognitive components
- All three components must be consistent with each other to ensure an attitude exists
Affective Component:
refers to the emotional reactions or feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event or issues
Behavioural Component:
refers to the way in which an attitude is expressed through our actions
Cognitive Component:
refers to the beliefs we have about an object, person, group, event or issue.
