4.1 - Attribution theory, Locus of Control, and Person Perception

Social Psychology

using scientific approach to understand how and why social groups influence individual behavior and attitudes.

Personality

explores the diverse characteristics that make people unique

Motivation

Internal and external factors that shape personality

Emotions

investigates how feelings are experienced, regulated, and expressed

Attribution

the way in which we explain the cause or causes of behavior

Dispositional Attribution

assumption that behavior is driven by internal characteristics such as intelligence or personailty

Situational Attribution

explaining the behavior as a result of an external source (a person’s situation)

Explanatory Style

predictable way of explaining the causes of events to themselves

Optimistic Explanatory Style

negative events = external and specific causes | positive events = internal and global causes.

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

negative events = internal and global causes | positive events = external and specific causes

Global Explanatory Style

tendency to view single setback as a sign of larger, more widespread problems

Specific Explanatory Style

tendency that negative events come from specific factors in a given situation, not as a reflection of their overall self or abilities.

Actor-Observer Bias

attributing others behavior to internal causes, while attributing own behavior to external causes.

Fundamental Attribution Error

tend to attribute own actions to external factors, but often blame others actions on their personal qualities.

Self-Serving Biases

tendency to attribute success to our own abilites, and failures to external factors

Ultimate Attribution Error

the tendency to attribute positive behaviors of one's own group (ingroup) to internal factors like personality, while attributing negative behaviors of an outside group (outgroup) to internal factors

Locus of Control

perception of where control over life events resides

Internal Locus of Control

belief that people have the ability to control their lives, their choices, and the world (positive)

External Locus of Control

believe that they have little to no control over their lives

Person Perception

our brain’s ability to form impressions and make judgement about others

Mere-Exposure Effect

your preference for something increases the more you are exposed to it

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

when a person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true, due to the simple fact that he or she expects it to come true

Social Comparison

comparing your own skills to others and feeling you are not as skilled

Upward Social Comparison

comparing oneself to others who are perceived superior

Downward Social Comparison

comparing oneself to other who are perceived inferior

Relative Deprivation

feeling of dissatisfaction that arise when people perceive themselves as having less than they deserve compared to others.