Week 2 - Causality & Consistency Flashcards
Attribution
Ascribing causes to social events
Posible causes:
* The self
* Another person
* Circumstances/chance
Causal attribution
It is raining.
John is happy.
His wife made cheesecake
(illusory correlations will happen: e.g. we don’t know why John is happy, maybe he doesn’t like cheesecake but he does like rain etc.)
Wegner’s theory of mental causation
Causation cannot be directly observed (Hume)
Therefore: causation is an inference and can be biased
- Priority:
* Thoughts need to occur just before action (-outcome) - Consistency
* Thoughts need to be consistent with the action (-outcome) - Exclusivity
* Are other potential causes present
Leads to illusion of control in gambling behavior
Bem’s Self-Perception Theory
Self-attributions:
* People derive their motives, attitudes, and emotions (self-definition), from observing their own behavior
Over-rewarding behavior is bad for intrinsic motivation
Perceived Consumer Effectiveness
- Consumers are more likely to act when they feel that their behavior will make a difference
- Similar to self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control, internal locus of control
What is the effect of guilt on the customer
A negative emotion associated with problem-focused coping, leading consumers to avoid feeling guilty in the future, and repair previous wrongdoing (internal causal attribution = ‘I did this!’)
What is the effect of pride on the customer
A positive emotion associated with a sense of achievement and self-worth, motivates people to behave responsibly in the future (internal causal attribution = ‘I did this!’)
What was the effect of guilt and pride on sustainable consumption choices?
Experienced guilt and pride results in more sustainable purchase intentions
Because they increase Perceived Consumer Effectiveness; people feel responsible
Both guilt and pride prevent the ability to reduce cognitive dissonance by denying responsibility
Foot-in-the-Door Effect
Explanation in terms of self attribution:
* Self-image is adjusted after agreeing to first small request
* With second, big request people act accordingly to their adjusted self-image
Self-serving bias
Motivation vs cognition
We expect our actions to have positive consequences, because that is what we aim for
Negative consequences are unexpected and trigger a search for causes in the environment
Fundamental Attribution Error
Underestimate the situation
Overestimate person
People underestimate the influence of the situation on behavior
People overestimate the degree to which behavior has a dispositional cause
What are the implications of the Fundamental Attribution Error
- Helps identifying consumer profiles and target audiences (ignoring context)
- Stigma (e.g. people living in poverty)
* Influence on policy
* Do not judge too soon; consider the context
Use system 2 to consider the context as well
When does Fundamental Attribution Error occur less?
- Moral behavior
- Negative mood
- Accountability
- Dependence upon target person
- Collectivist cultures
These are all part of systematic processing (system 2)
What is the Actor-Observor Effect
The Fundamental Attribution Error mainly occurs for the behavior of others and less for our own behavior
Benign Violation Theory (norm violation and humor)
Theory used in prankvertising
Violation must impose physical or psychological threat
Violation must occur in safe and playful context
An interpretative process should help reconcile violation and sense of safety (i.e. wrong but okay)
Prankvertising and morality
- Norm violations (surprises) likely trigger moral reasoning
* Balancing of risks and benefits - Both perceptions of fear and morality can be generated by system 1
- Conflicts between risks and benefits call for reflection by system 2
What makes a succesful prankvertisement
- Low fear
- And/or high meaningfulness
Morality –> humor –> brand attitude
Confirmation bias
Finding, remembering and interpreting evidence in line with your ideas and ignoring contradictory evidence
Implications of confirmation bias
- In criminal justice and investigation, confirmation bias is also called tunnel vision = ‘is this person guilty?’
- Lack of falsification in science
- Marketers tailor messages that resonate with consumers’ existing viewpoints
- Investors focus excessively on information that reinforces their opinions about an investment
Why do people often find confirmation for their expectations?
- Positive testing = looking for evidence to support your idea
* Limited capacity
* Negative testing is much less efficient
* Negative info is less valuable (the absence of evidence does not equal the evidence of absence)
* Satisficing
* Anchoring and adjustment - We also stimulate confirmative behavior in others (self-fulfilling prophecy)
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
An expectation or belief that can influence your behaviors, thus causing that belief to come true
Illusory correlation
When we see a correlation between two variables when they aren’t actually associated
