Social Psychology Unit Test Review - Attribution Theory & Biases

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and biases related to Attribution Theory for the Social Psychology Unit Test Review Sheet.

Attribution

The process or act of assigning causes to human behaviors, actions, or events.

Dispositional Attribution

Attributing an individual's behavior to internal factors, such as personality traits, character, intelligence, or motives.

Situational Attribution

Attributing an individual's behavior to external environment, context, or situational pressures rather than internal traits.

Attribution Theory

A theoretical framework in social psychology explaining how individuals observe behavior, interpret events, and attribute causal explanations to them.

Just World Hypothesis

An attributional bias assuming that the world is inherently fair and just, leading to the belief that people get what they deserve.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize internal or dispositional factors and underemphasize situational factors when analyzing the behavior of others.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute one's own actions to external situational factors while attributing the behavior of others to internal dispositional factors.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute personal successes to internal factors while attributing personal failures to external situational factors.

Self-Effacing Bias

The tendency to attribute personal failure to internal factors and personal success to external factors or luck.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to perceive an event as having been predictable or inevitable after it has already occurred.