Unit 4: Attribution Theory and Person Perception

Dispositional attitude

assigning the cause of person's behavior to an internal characteristic, trait, or ability (ie: sit in corner and don't dance at prom, you have an introverted disposition)

Situational attribution

assigning the cause of behavior to some situation or event outside a person's control (ie: sit in corner and didn't dance at prom, but you love to dance but they only played country music)

Internal Locus

place of control in your life; perception that we have control over our fate by our behavior

External Locus

perception that outside forces beyond our control determine our fate

Optimistic Explanatory Style

blame outside forces for negative effects, don't let events affect too many aspects of their lives, better mental health and motivation

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

blame themselves for negative events, such events affect many aspects of their lives, linked to depression and low motivation

Fundamental Attribution Error

tendency to overemphasize dispositional factors and underestimate external situational when explaining other's actions (ie: someone's actions reflect their character)

Actor-Observer Bias

attribute other's behaviors to their personality, but attribute our behavior to out situation

Self-Serving Bias

we credit successes to ourselves but blame failures on external factors

Mere-Exposure Effect

repeated exposure to a person tends to increase our liking even if it began negative

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

expectations about someone influence how we interact; leads to confirming our expectations

Social comparison

evaluating ourselves by comparing our abilities, achievements, or traits to others

Upward social comparison

comparing ourselves to someone who is better than us; can motivate or cause jealousy

Downward social comparison

comparing ourselves to someone who is worse than use; boosts our self-esteem

Relative deprivation

feeling of dissatisfaction or disadvantage that arises when people compare themselves to others who they believe have more or are better off; feelings of frustration