Unit 10; Forming Impressions Flashcards
Covariation theory
Is behaviour dispositional or situational
Based on:
Consensus (diff. ppl, same situation)
Distinctiveness (same person, diff. situation)
Consistency (same person, similar situation)
When is it situational attribution
High consistency
High consensus
High distinctiveness
When is it dispositional attribution
High consistency
Low consensus
Low distinctiveness
When is it wider situation attribution
Low consistency
High/low consensus
High/low distinctiveness
Wider situational attribution
Abnormal behaviour due to outside factors
Correspondent Inference theory
Explains a person’s behaviour
Includes:
- Degree of choice (amount of freedom an actor has in choosing their behaviour)
- Expectation (whether an individual’s behaviour in a particular social role matches our expectations for that role)
- Intended consequence (the goals and motivations underlying behaviour)
Fundamental attribution error
Tendency to overvalue DISPOSITIONAL factors for OTHERS’ (observed) behaviour
Actor/observer effect
Consider situational factors of your own behaviour
Dispositional factors of others’ behaviour
Is the fundamental attribution error universal?
No!
It’s influenced by culture/age, collectivist societies have less fae
Especially over 10 yrs old
Self-serving bias
failure = situational
success = dispositional
Above average effect + what causes it
Think you’re above average
Especially for things that are important to you (ex. ability to make friends)
Cognitive heuristics
Accelerate the processing of social situations
Representativeness heuristic
How well behaviour fits a prototype
Availability heuristic
Experiences most readily available in memory
ex. “list 2 flaws” = easily available = low ratings
Distance and attractiveness
More attracted to ppl close in physical AND functional (how often you interact) distance
Aka low and low
