Psychology (2025) Unit 4 – Social Psychology and Personality
4.1 Attribution Theory and Person Perception
Attribution theory explores how we explain behavior, both our own and others'. It covers internal and external attributions, explanatory styles, and common biases that affect our judgments. Understanding these concepts helps us navigate social interactions and self-perception more effectively.
Person perception processes, including the mere exposure effect and self-fulfilling prophecies, shape how we view and interact with others. Social comparison types further influence our self-evaluation and satisfaction with life circumstances. These concepts are crucial for understanding social psychology.
Attribution theory in behavior
Internal vs external attributions
Attributions explain the behavior and mental processes of oneself and others 🧠
Dispositional attributions connect behavior to internal qualities like intelligence or personality
Situational attributions link behavior to external circumstances the person experiences
Example: A student fails a test
Dispositional attribution: The student is not smart enough or didn't study hard enough
Situational attribution: The test was too difficult or the student was dealing with personal issues
Explanatory styles for events
Explanatory style is a person's predictable pattern of attributions for good and bad events in their own life and others' lives
Optimistic explanatory style attributes good events to internal, stable, global causes and bad events to external, unstable, specific causes
Pessimistic explanatory style attributes good events to external, unstable, specific causes and bad events to internal, stable, global causes
Examples of optimistic explanatory style:
"I got an A on the test because I'm smart and studied hard" (good event, internal/stable/global)
"I failed the test because it was really hard this time" (bad event, external/unstable/specific)
Examples of pessimistic explanatory style:
"I got an A on the test because it was easy this time" (good event, external/unstable/specific)
"I failed the test because I'm not good at this subject" (bad event, internal/stable/global)
Biases in attributions
Actor-observer bias: People tend to attribute their own behavior to situational factors, but attribute others' behavior to dispositional factors
Example: "I was late because there was a lot of traffic" (own behavior, situational) vs. "They were late because they're always disorganized" (others' behavior, dispositional)
Fundamental attribution error: Overestimating the influence of dispositional factors and underestimating the influence of situational factors when explaining others' behavior
Example: Assuming a quiet person is shy (dispositional) without considering they may be tired or in a bad mood (situational)
Self-serving bias: Tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external factors to maintain self-esteem
Example: "I got the job because I'm highly qualified" (success, internal) vs. "I didn't get the job because the interviewer was biased" (failure, external)
Locus of control applications
Locus of control is the extent to which people believe they have control over events in their lives
Internal locus of control: Belief that one's own actions determine outcomes
External locus of control: Belief that outside forces (luck, fate, powerful others) determine outcomes
Applications of locus of control:
People with an internal locus of control tend to have better mental health, higher achievement motivation, and cope better with stress
People with an external locus of control are more prone to learned helplessness and may be less motivated to change their circumstances
Example: Two students fail a test
Student with internal locus of control: "I need to study harder next time to improve my grade"
Student with external locus of control: "The teacher made the test too hard, there's nothing I can do"
Person perception processes
Mere exposure effect
Mere exposure effect: Phenomenon where people tend to like a stimulus more simply because they've been exposed to it repeatedly over time
Examples of mere exposure effect:
Liking a song more after hearing it multiple times on the radio 🎵
Developing a preference for a certain brand after seeing its advertisements frequently
Mere exposure effect can influence person perception by increasing liking for people seen more often, even without direct interaction
Self-fulfilling prophecies
Self-fulfilling prophecy: When people's beliefs or perceptions about themselves or others lead them to behave in ways that elicit confirming behaviors from others
Examples of self-fulfilling prophecies:
A teacher believes a student is not smart, gives them less attention and support, leading to lower performance that confirms the initial belief
A person believes they are socially awkward, acts nervous and withdrawn in social situations, causing others to interact less with them and reinforcing their self-perception
Self-fulfilling prophecies can perpetuate both positive and negative perceptions in interpersonal relationships
Social comparison types
Social comparison: Evaluating oneself based on comparisons to others in society or social circles
Upward social comparison: Comparing oneself to someone seen as better off, which can inspire self-improvement but may also threaten self-esteem
Downward social comparison: Comparing oneself to someone seen as worse off, which can boost self-esteem but may hinder motivation to improve
Relative deprivation: Perception of being deprived of something one feels entitled to, often based on social comparisons
Example: Feeling dissatisfied with one's income after learning that a coworker in a similar position earns more
Social comparisons and relative deprivation can significantly impact self-perception and satisfaction with one's circumstances