Social Psychology and Behavioral Attributions

Situational Attributions:

• Definition: External factors influencing individual behavior.

• Example: A person behaving kindly due to a social expectation rather than personal disposition.

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE):

• Definition: The tendency to overestimate dispositional factors (personality traits) and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior.

• Example: Assuming a person cutting you off while driving is rude, rather than considering they may be rushing to an emergency.

Just World Hypothesis:

• Definition: The belief that individuals get what they deserve, leading to victim-blaming.

• Consequence: Reinforcement of stereotypes and social inequalities by attributing negative events to the victims' characters rather than external circumstances.

Implicit Theory of Personality:

• Purpose: Filling gaps in information about others, often leading to judgments based on stereotypes.

• Example: Assuming all elderly individuals are weak or frail.

Stereotyping:

• Definition: Generalizations about a group that can influence behavior and preconceptions about individuals.

• Risk: Can lead to unfair generalizations and prejudiced attitudes.

Outgroup Homogeneity Effect:

• Definition: The tendency to see members of an outgroup as more similar to each other than they are, while recognizing diversity within one's own group.

• Implication: This effect fosters an inaccurate perception of others and perpetuates stereotypes.

Implicit Association Test (IAT):

• Tool used to measure unconscious attitudes and associations between concepts (e.g., race and good/bad traits).

• Method: Participants categorize words and faces quickly to detect implicit biases.

Actor-Observer Bias:

• Explanation: Attributing others' actions to internal factors while attributing our own actions to external factors.

• Example: Blaming external circumstances for personal failures while judging others harshly for similar failures.

Self-Serving Bias:

• Definition: Tendency to attribute positive outcomes to disposition (self) and negative outcomes to situation (external).

• Example: Taking credit for a good grade (I'm smart), while blaming the test difficulty for a poor grade (The test was unfair).

Locus of Control:

• Definition: Refers to the extent to which individuals believe they can control events affecting them.

• Categories: Internal locus (individual controls outcomes) vs. external locus (external factors control outcomes).

Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo):

• Overview: Explored the impact of situational roles on behavior by simulating a prison environment.

• Findings: Participants quickly adopted roles leading to abusive behavior, illustrating the power of situational influences over personal conscience.

Deindividuation:

• Definition: Loss of self-awareness in groups, often leading to impulsive behavior.

• Example: Individuals in a mob acting aggressively without personal accountability.

Diffusion of Responsibility:

• Definition: The tendency of individuals in a group to feel less responsible for actions, particularly during emergencies.

• Case Study: Kitty Genovese murder, where witnesses failed to act due to the assumption others would help.

Pluralistic Ignorance:

• Definition: When individuals wrongly assume others have a better understanding of a situation, leading to inaction in emergencies.

• Example: Bystanders failing to assist someone in distress because everyone else appears unconcerned.

Conformity (Asch's Studies):

• Overview: Demonstrated how individuals conform to group views even when they contradict their own perceptions.

• Findings: Greater conformity in larger groups and less among familiar group members.

Obedience (Milgram's Experiment):

• Overview: Explored individuals' willingness to obey authority figures despite moral objections, highlighting the impact of situational factors on moral decision-making.

• Results: Significant numbers of participants delivered maximum shock to others, illustrating dehumanization of victims under authority pressure.