Unit 2 - Part 1

Question 1

What is Attribution?

Answer 1

our desire to know more than “how people behave a certain way”

Question 2

Why do we form the desire to know more than how people behave a certain way?

Answer 2

we seek to understand, explain and control ourselves and others

Question 3

What is the definition of Attribution according to Branscombe and Baron?

Answer 3

Process through which we seek information that helps to understand and explain behaviour, in order to draw inferences

Question 4

What are the 2 theories of Attribution? What are related factors?

Answer 4

1. Theory of correspondent inference
2. Covariation Theory
   -> factors related: Beliefs and Action identification

Question 5

What is the theory of correspondent inference?

Answer 5

how others act is a reflection of what they are, so their behavior is a guide to their traits
-> we need to take influence of external factors into account that may condition behavior

Question 6

What do we think of in the theory of correspondent inference?

Answer 6

we think of different situations

Question 7

What role do Situational factors play in correspondent inference?

Answer 7

we consider situational factors when informative actions rule out other causes, when behavior seems imposed rather than freely chosen, and when analyzing noncommon effects that indicate specific causal factors

Question 8

What is the significance of Informative actions in the Theory of Correspondent Inference?

Answer 8

rules out other possible causes and allow us to zero-in on a specific reason for another’s behavior

Question 9

What is the significance of free will in the Theory of Correspondent Inference?

Answer 9

• If the behaviour seems freely chosen we consider its corresponding with their behaviour
• If the behaviour seems imposed the opposite occurs

Question 10

What is the significance of noncommon effects in the Theory of Correspondent inference?

Answer 10

conditions caused by one specific factor and no other

Question 11

what does Informative actions mean?

Answer 11

behavior and actions that provide information
-> e.g.: free will and noncommon effects (they provide information type of attribution - free will: reflection of who they are; non common: only one path)

Question 12

What is Social desirability in Theory of correspondent inference?

Answer 12

to behave in a socially desirable way is considered normal, so actions that follow social norms will past unnoticed
-> action that violates social norms will stand out more

Question 13

The lower the social desirability of an actions is, the more … ?

Answer 13

attention we pay to it

Question 14

What does the Covariation Theory try to answer?

Answer 14

To answer “why” an event did or did not happen
-> hoping to understand why a person behaved a certain way etc.

Question 15

What are the 2 types of explanations in covariation theory?

Answer 15

1. Internal attribution: to the person’s disposition, who he/she is
2. External attribution: to the person’s situation, what happens to him/her

Question 16

What are the 3 types of information in the Covariation Theory?

Answer 16

1. Consensus
2. Consistency
3. Distinctiveness

Question 17

What is Consensus?

Answer 17

the extent to which other people react to a given stimulus/event in the same manner as the person we are evaluating
-> is there a rule to guide this behavior
e.g.: he/she does the same as everyone else

Question 18

What is Consistency?

Answer 18

the extent to which the person in question reacts to the stimulus/event in the same way on other occasions over time
-> Does the person behave the same way every time in the same scenario?
e.g.: he/she does the same every time

Question 19

What is Distinctiveness?

Answer 19

the extent to which the person reacts in the same manner to other similar but different event/stimuli
-> How rare is this behavior for the person?
e.g.: he/she does the same in similar situations

Question 20

What kind of attribution can we observe, when there is low consensus, high consistency and low distinctiveness?

Answer 20

internal attribution

Question 21

What kind of attribution can we observe, when there is high consensus, high consistency and high distinctiveness?

Answer 21

external attribution

Question 22

How do we proceed in order to evaluate if behavior is caused by internal or external attribution in the theory of attribution?

Answer 22

Consistency: does this person usually behave in this way?
-> yes (we seek explanation)
Distinctiveness: does this person behave differently in this situation than in others?
no (low) -> internal attribution
yes (high) -> external attribution -> consensus
Consensus: do others behave similar in this situation?
no (low) -> internal attribution
yes (high) -> external attribution

Question 23

What are other dimensions besides internal/external cause?

Answer 23

• stable/unstable (are the influencing factors stable or likely to change?)
• controllable/uncontrollable (can an individual change the factors?)

Question 24

What are examples for Internal vs. External?

Answer 24

goals, schemas, fatigue, motivation vs. accident or weather

Question 25

What are examples for Stable vs. Unstable?

Answer 25

personality traits, social norms vs. mood, fatigue or motivation

Question 26

What are examples for Controllable vs. Uncontrollable?

Answer 26

goals or time we study vs. accidents or encountering someone

Question 27

Which of the dimensions do we use to try to understand the world?

Answer 27

all three dimensions

Question 28

What is Fate attributions?

Answer 28

The belief that certain events are “meant to be”
-> Due to religious or cultural factors we assume forces outside our understanding control the happening of certain events.
-> Things happen for a reason and one only essential reason: not because a combination of complex causalities.