Social Influence and Attribution Theory

Research on Responses to Danger

In 2011, British researchers studied participants' response times in dangerous situations.
A cover story for participant recruitment involved a discussion group about online shopping habits.
Participants either waited alone or with people who were part of the experiment (confederates).
Smoke began to seep in during the experiment, leading to varying responses.
Participants waiting alone recognized the danger and left quickly.
In contrast, those waiting with confederates showed increased wait times, from 1 minute to 13 minutes, demonstrating an example of dangerous conformity.
The lack of reaction from confederates inhibited the concerned participant's response, exemplifying how the social environment influences behavior.

The social environment impacts our daily lives, shaping our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
It provides information that aids in understanding the thoughts and actions of others.
People often rely on external cues to interpret others' behaviors, prescribing expected norms for individuals and groups.
Many individuals conform to social norms unknowingly.

Attribution Theory: A framework for understanding the reasons behind the actions of others.
Acknowledges that human judgement is biased, which can lead to errors in assessing behavior.
The accuracy of interpreting others' behavior is variable and susceptible to bias.
When interpreting actions, two types of attributions can be made:
- Dispositional/Internal Causes: Involves personality traits and characteristics intrinsic to the person observed.
- Example: Attributes such as kindness or aggression relate to a person's character.
- Situational/External Causes: Linked to environmental factors external to the person observed.
- Example: Stressors such as time constraints or external pressures may affect behavior.

People are more inclined to view others' behaviors as dispositional while attributing their own behaviors to situational factors.
For instance, if someone arrives late, they might think it was due to lost keys or needing to refuel.
Conversely, if another person is late, they may attribute it to personal failings, assuming lack of concern or desire.

Kelley's Covariation Model: States that a single observation is inadequate for forming accurate attributions; multiple observations are necessary across various contexts.
Kelley identified three essential factors to consider for making attributions:
1. Consistency: Evaluates how a person behaves consistently in the same situation over time.
2. Distinctiveness: Assesses whether the person behaves similarly across different situations.
3. Consensus: Compares the individual's behavior with that of others.
Attributions based on high consistency, low distinctiveness, and low consensus suggest internal attributions.
High consistency, high distinctiveness, and high consensus point to external attributions.
Refer to Table 13.1 for examples of applying Kelley's model to determine accurate attributions of behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error: Describes our tendency to attribute others' behaviors to internal/dispositional causes while overlooking external/environmental factors.
Actor-Observer Bias: An attribution error where individuals assign internal attributions to the actions of others but external attributions for their own behaviors, due to awareness of situational factors in their case.
Example: A teacher may think a student is lazy (internal attribution) but attribute their own lack of performance to a heavy workload (external attribution).

Self-Serving Bias: Occurs when individuals credit their successes to internal/dispositional causes and their failures to external/situational causes, thereby preserving self-esteem.

False Consensus Effect: The cognitive bias where individuals overestimate the extent to which others share their beliefs and opinions, assuming their viewpoints to be common.

Impression Formation: The process of developing opinions about individuals or groups, heavily influenced by initially available information.
The primary part of how we perceive others, and how they perceive us, is through the first impression, often governed by the primary effect.

Primary Effect: Postulates that once a first impression is formed, less attention is given to later information that may alter the initial impression.
Negative information tends to be weighted more heavily than positive information when forming impressions.
Confirmation Bias: The tendency to focus on information that confirms our initial impressions while ignoring disconfirming evidence.

The primary effect in impression formation may differ across cultures.
In Western cultures, the primary effect exerts a stronger influence on the formation of impressions.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A phenomenon where desired outcomes are more likely to occur because individuals unconsciously act in ways that result in those outcomes.
Example: A person with high self-esteem is more likely to engage socially, drawing positive attention and forming new connections.
Their confident behavior leads them to fulfill the expectation of positive social interaction.
Believing in the ability to learn in a course can lead to improved understanding and performance.