SCLOA - discuss 2 attribution errors

Question 1

fundamental attribution error

Answer 1

• coined by Ross (1977)
• refers to the biased tendency to explain other people’s behaviour as due to stable dispositional factors
• rather than situational factors
• the more serious the consequences of the behaviour, the more likely we are to attribute it to disposition

Main studies:

• Ross et al. (1977)
• Jones and Harris (1967)

Question 2

why does FAE occur?

Answer 2

• humans are social animals
• so they’re more likely to focus on other beings rather than the environment
• assuming that behaviour is caused by personality gives the impression that people are predictable – and we derive comfort from this
• with regard to semantics, the words used makes it easier to focus on people rather than situations
• when talking of ‘aggression’, one assumes it refers to behaviour or a person rather than a situation
• this assumption is an example of linguistic FAE

Question 3

Ross et al. (1977) - Process

Answer 3

• set up a mock quiz
• randomly assigned college students to be either ‘questioners’ (i.e. create questions based on their own knowledge of a subject) or ‘answerers’
• asked everyone taking part to rate the 2 groups
• control: a group of observers were also asked to rate the groups

Question 4

Ross et al. (1977) - Findings and Conclusion

Answer 4

• ‘questioners’ were typically rated as having better general knowledge than ‘answerers’
• by both the answerers and observers
• despite not actually answering any questions themselves
• observers paid no attention to the fact that it was a mock quiz
• instead chose to assume that the behaviour reflected a dispositional factor (that questioners had more general knowledge)

Question 5

Ross et al. (1977) - Evaluation

Answer 5

• sophisticated methodology
• questioners could make up their own questions; this was known by all participants
• sampling bias: all participants were university students
• low ecological validity

Question 6

Jones and Harris (1967) - Process

Answer 6

• participants read essays about Fidel Castro’s rule in Cuba by fellow students
• essays took a stance (supportive/critical) on Fidel Castro
• participants were asked what they thought the writers really felt about Castro

2 conditions:

• choice: participants were told essay writers could choose their own stance
• no choice: participants were told essay writers were assigned a stance

Question 7

Jones and Harris (1967) - Findings and Conclusion

Answer 7

• participants in both conditions assumed the essays reflected the real opinions of their writers
• despite a potential explanation (no choice condition), participants still opted for an internal cause over an external one

Question 8

Jones and Harris (1967) - Evaluation

Answer 8

• clear IV and DV, shows determinism

- sampling bias: participants were all university students

Question 9

how FAE occurs

Answer 9

Gilbert and Malone (1995):
two-step attribution process
- step 1: unconscious processing, assumed to be dispositional causes
- step 2: more controlled and conscious processing, considering situational factors

• according to Gilbert and Maline (1995) we usually don’t proceed to step 2
  e. g. if we’re not preoccupied/mentally lazy = enough cognitive resources to proceed
  e. g. if we believe that dispositional is the right explanation

Question 10

cultural considerations of FAE

Answer 10

collectivist cultures:

• emphasizes an individual’s social relationships (e.g. family, social status)
• hence, less FAE

individualistic cultures:

• emphasizes the individual as the primary cause of action (i.e. you are the cause of your success or failure)
• hence, more FAE

Main study: Norenzayan et al. (2002)

Question 11

Norenzayan et al. (2002)

Answer 11

gave 2 types of info to Korean and American participants:

• dispositional only: both made dispositional attributions
• situational + dispositional: Koreans took both into account while Americans focused on dispositional
• this indicates how attribution styles may differ between cultures

Question 12

strengths of FAE

Answer 12

• lots of empirical evidence

- helped us understand common errors we make when attempting to explain surrounding events

Question 13

weaknesses of FAE

Answer 13

• culture-specific: too much focus on individualism
• most of the empirical evidence comes from laboratory experiments (low ecological validity)
• sample bias: most FAE studies are made up of student participants

Question 14

self-serving bias

Answer 14

• coined by Ross (1977)
• tendency people have to explain their own successful behaviour as due to disposition
• and tendency to explain less successful behaviour as due to situational factors

Main study: Johnson et al. (1964)

Question 15

why does SSB occur?

Answer 15

• to maintain self-esteem
• so as not to succumb to depression
• Abramson et al. (1989): depressed people often attribute success to external events, and failure to internal causes
• thus the fact that depressed people don’t have SSB contributes to their depression
• People typically expect to succeed and correlate success with their own effort to exaggerate the amount of„ control they have

Question 16

Johnson et al. (1964) - Process

Answer 16

• participants taught children simple math problems
• the children were taught in a very simple way to isolate the variable of ‘teaching Maths’
• children then took a test
• test sheets were altered to either show high score or low score

Question 17

Johnson et al. (1964) - Findings and Conclusion

Answer 17

• when participants saw high scores, they explained it as showing their abilities as teachers
• but when participants saw low scores, they explained it as showing the pupil’s lack of ability
• but this effect has not always been found with experienced teachers
• experienced teachers tend to be more confident and more able to criticize themselves
• thus they were less likely to try to protect their self-esteem

Question 18

Johnson et al. (1964) - Evaluation

Answer 18

Strengths

• laboratory experiment: strict control over variables
• clear IV and DV to establish clear determinism

Limitations

• laboratory experiment: lacks ecological validity, artificial environment
• sample bias: participants all psych students

Question 19

cultural considerations in SSB

Answer 19

• cultures appear to influence attribution styles
• SSB is arguably closer linked to individualistic societies

Main study: Kashima and Triandis (1986)

Question 20

Kashima and Triandis (1986) - Overview

Answer 20

• showed unfamiliar slides to American and Japanese students and asked them to memorize the details
• students were asked to evaluate their performance
• Americans were more likely to attribute success to dispositional, and failure to situational
• Japanese tended to explain failure with dispositional
• Japanese exhibited a ‘modesty bias’ – a cultural variation of the SSB

Question 21

strengths of SSB

Answer 21

• explains why people (mostly individualistic) tend to explain successes as dispositional and failures as situational
• empirical support

Question 22

weaknesses of SSB

Answer 22

• culturally biased to individualistic

- cannot explain the modesty bias present in certain cultures

Question 23

comparing FAE to SSB

Answer 23

differs in:

• theoretical explanations of those errors
• the strengths and weakness

similar:

• approaches of research supporting these theoretical claims (both lab)
• role of culture in each attribution error (individualist = more bias)
• both errors in attribution: they propose flaws in attribution theory and how people explain behaviour