Attribution

Attribution

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• Attribution Theory
    * Theory that views people as motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to explain the behavior
• Actor-Observer Effect
    * People attribute behavior depending on weather they are performing it or observing it
      * Situational factors
        * when people discuss their own behavior, they are likely to attribute it to external factors
      * Dispositional Factors
        * when people discuss other people's behavior they are likely to attribute it to internal factors

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The dimensions of Causality

• Internal/External Causes
    * We perceive some causes of behavior are based on our internal traits as some based on external factors  (Nature vs. Nurture)

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• Stable/ Unstable
    * We perceive some causes of behavior as enduring and permanent and others are temporary.
• Controllable/Uncontrollable
    * We perceive that we can control some causes for behavior but not others

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Attribution Emotional and Motivational Implications

• Bernard Weiner (1986,2006)
    * People perceive that of their accomplishment are based on internal characteristics, we feel proud of them. If we perceive them as being the result of external factors, we do not take pride in them
    * Fundamental attribution error
• The tendency for observers to overestimate the importance of internal traits of the individual and underestimate the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of a person’s behavior.

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• False Consensus Effect
    * Overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way we do, stemming from the use of our own outlook or situation to predict that of others. \n \n
• The self as a social object
    * People have a mental representation (schema) of themselves (identity, personality, and self-esteem)
      * Schema(building blocks of knowledge) Theory
        * Idea that there are building blocks of knowledge \n \n
• Positive Illusions
    * Positive views of oneself that are not necessarily deeply rooted in reality
• Self-Serving Bias
    * The tendency to take credit for one’s successes and to deny responsibility for one’s failures
• Modesty Bias
    * When Individuals attribute situation factor for their successes, and dissociated themselves from their successes by attributing them to situation factors
• Self - Objectification
    * The tendency to see oneself primarily as an object on the eyes of others
• Stereotype threat
    * An individual's fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear (spotlight anxiety) of being judged on the basis of a negative stereotype about his or her group
• Social Comparison
    * The process by which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people.
• Attitudes
    * Opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas
      * Can attitudes predict behavior?
        * Research (Mcguire, 2004; Smith & Fabrigar, 2000) suggest that attitudes can in fact sometimes predict behavior
        * When a person’s attitudes are strong.
        * When a person shows a strong awareness of their attitude and practices them
        * When attitudes are relevant to the behavior.

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• Can Behavior Predict attitudes?
    * Two theories suggest that behavior does indeed influence attitudes
      * Cognitive Dissonance Theory
        * An individual's psychological discomfort (dissonance) caused by two inconsistent thoughts
          * Leon Festinger
            * 1957 - wrote a book
      * Self- Perception Theory
        * Stresses that individuals make inferences about their attitudes by perceiving their behavior.
• How are people’s attitudes changed?
    * The communicator (source)
    * The message
    * The medium
    * The target (Audience)

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Social Behavior

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• Altruism
    * An unselfish interest in helping someone else
• Egoism
    * Giving to another person to:
      * Ensure reciprocity
      * To gain self esteem
      * Present oneself as powerful, competent, or caring
      * Avoid social and self-censure for failing to love up to society's expectations
• Empathy
    * A feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another person
• Bystander Effect - AKA Diffusion of responsibility
    * Results of two psychologists: Darley and Latane
      * Inspired by Kitty Genovese case - 1964
    * The tendency of an individual who observes an emergency to help less when other people are present than when the observer is alone