4.1

Attribution

The process of explaining the cause of someone's behavior or events.

If a friend doesn’t text back, you might think they’re ignoring you (internal) or they’re just busy (external).

Actor/Observer Bias

When we explain our own behavior, we blame the situation, but when we explain others' behavior, we blame their personality.

EG: If you trip on a sidewalk, you blame the uneven ground. If someone else trips, you think they’re clumsy.

Internal Locus of Control

The belief that you control your own fate through your actions, decisions, and efforts.

A student who believes they got a good grade because they studied hard, not because of luck.

Disposition Attribution(Internal)

Explaining behavior based on a person’s personality, character, or traits rather than external factors.

Example: Assuming a student who is always quiet in class is shy, rather than considering they might just be tired.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate personality traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior.

Example: Seeing someone drive aggressively and assuming they’re a rude person, rather than considering they might be late for an emergency.

External Locus of Control

Definition: The belief that outside forces like fate, luck, or other people control what happens in your life.

A student who fails a test and blames it on bad luck or an unfair teacher rather than their own study habits.

Situational Attribution (External)

Explaining behavior based on external factors, such as the environment or circumstances.

Example: If someone is in a bad mood, you assume it’s because they had a stressful day rather than thinking they’re just a negative person.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to credit yourself for successes but blame external factors for failures.

EG: If you win a game, you say it's because you're skilled. If you lose, you blame bad weather or unfair rules.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

is when a belief or expectation about a person or situation causes it to come true, because we act in ways that make it happen.
EG: If you believe you're bad at math, you might not study as much, leading to poor performance, reinforcing your belief.

Explanatory Style (Optimistic/Pessimistic)

How people explain events in their lives, either in a positive (optimistic) or negative (pessimistic) way.

Optimistic: "I failed, but I can improve if I study more."

Pessimistic: "I failed because I’m bad at everything, and I’ll never get better."

Mere Exposure Effect

The tendency to develop a preference for things simply because we are exposed to them repeatedly.

Example: A song you didn’t like at first starts to grow on you after hearing it multiple times on the radio.

Social Comparison (Upward/Downward)

Evaluating yourself by comparing to others, either to someone better (upward) or someone worse (downward).

Upward: Comparing yourself to a top student and feeling motivated to improve.

Downward: Comparing yourself to someone struggling more and feeling better about yourself.

Relative Deprivation

Feeling less satisfied because you compare yourself to others who have more, even if you were content before.

Example: You were happy with your phone until you saw your friend’s newer model, making you feel like yours isn’t good enough anymore.