AP Psychology 4.1 Notes

Attribution Theory

explains how people interpret behaviors and mental processes

• when we or someone else does something, we create an explanation

• Dispositional Attributions: relate to internal qualities like personality or intelligence (running red light because they’re a careless driver)

• Situational Attributions: relate to external circumstances or environmental factors (running a red light because they’re rushing to the hospital)

Explanatory Style

The habitual way individuals explain events to themselves and others

• Optimistic Explanatory Style: attributes negative events to external, temporary factors (I failed the test because I didn’t have enough time to study this week, but I can pass the retake)

• Pessimistic Explanatory Style: attributes negative events to internal, stable factors (I failed the test because I’m bad at math)

Fundamental Attribution Error

A biased tendency to attribute others’ behaviors to their dispositions while underestimating situational factors (assuming a student is lazy because they’re late, not considering traffic)

• We fall for fundamental attribution error because of cognitive bias, lack of information, cultural influences

• Real world consequences of fundamental attribution error are workplace misunderstandings, social judgements, criminal justice bias, relationship conflict

Self-Serving Bias

A biased tendency to attribute personal successes to internal factors and failures to external ones (opposite of fundamental attribution error)

• “I aced the test because I’m good at math and I failed English because the teacher can’t teach.”

• Impact on Behavior: Protects self-esteem but can hinder personal growth

Actor/Observer Bias

Attributing our own actions to situational factors but others’ actions to dispositional factors (FAE and SSB) —> you fail a test so the questions were unfair but when your friend fails the test, they just didn’t study

Cultural Influences on Attribution

Individualistic Cultures: emphasize personal responsibility

• More prone to fundamental attribution error

Collectivistic Cultures: emphasize group harmony

• More likely to consider situational factors

Locus of Control

Individuals’ beliefs about the extent to which they can control events affecting them

• Types of LoC

  • Internal LoC: Belief that one’s own actions determine outcomes

  • External LoC: Belief that external forces (luck, fate, etc.) determine outcomes

Impact on Behavior and Mental Processes

Internal LoC Characteristics: accountability, believes effort influences success, proactive

• Outcomes: higher motivation and achievement; better stress management and resilience

External LoC Characteristics: attributes outcomes to luck or fate, feels less personal control over life events, passive in the face of challenges

• Outcomes: increased feelings of helplessness; potential for higher stress and anxiety

Real World Applications: Academic Performance

• Internals: study diligently, seek help, believe effort leads to success

• Externals: may not study as hard, attribute grades to luck or teacher bias

Real World Applications: Health Behaviors

• Internals: engage in healthy habits, believe they can influence well-being

• Externals: may neglect health, think illness is out of their control

Person Perception

The process of forming impressions and making judgements about others

• influences our interactions and behaviors in social contexts

• affects how we interpret others’ actions and impacts our own behavior and mental processes

Mere Exposure Effect

Increased liking of a stimulus due to repeated exposure over time

• Applications:

  • Social Situations: growing fondness for classmates or coworkers you see regularly

  • Marketing: ads repeated often to increase consumer preference

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

When a person’s expectations about someone leads to behaviors that cause the expectation to come true

• Expectations influence actions towards others and other respond in ways that confirm the original expectation

  • A teacher believes a student is high-achieving and gives them more attention —> The student performs better

Social Comparison

Evaluating oneself by comparing with others

• Upward Comparison: comparing to those perceived as better off

  • can motivate improvement or cause dissatisfaction

• Downward Comparison: comparing to those perceived as worse off

  • can boost self-esteem

• Relative Deprivation: feeling deprived when comparing oneself to others who are better

  • can lead to feelings of frustration or injustice