Attribution Theory and Person Perception

Person perception

The mental process of forming judgments and impressions of other people based on their behavior, appearance, and social cues.

Attribution

An explanation for the cause of behavior, often attributing it to personality traits or situational factors.

Attribution theory

The theory that explains how people interpret and explain the causes of behavior, focusing on internal versus external explanations.

Dispositional attributions

Explanations of behavior that focus on internal characteristics such as personality traits, attitudes, or abilities.

Situational attributions

Explanations of behavior that focus on external factors such as the environment or social context.

Explanatory style

A person’s habitual way of explaining events, especially negative ones; can be optimistic or pessimistic.

Actor-observer bias

The tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational factors while attributing others’ behavior to dispositional factors.

Internal locus of control

The belief that one’s own actions and efforts determine outcomes.

Mere exposure effect

The tendency to develop a preference for stimuli simply because they are familiar.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A belief or expectation that leads to behavior that causes the belief to come true.

Mirror-image perceptions

The tendency for opposing groups or individuals to see each other in the same negative ways.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations and underestimate situational explanations for others’ behavior.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.

External locus of control

The belief that outcomes are controlled by external forces such as luck or fate.

Social comparison

The process of evaluating oneself by comparing oneself to others.

Relative deprivation

The perception that one is worse off compared to others, leading to dissatisfaction or resentment.