Attribution Theory Overview
10 Questions
0 Views

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to Lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What does dispositional attribution focus on?

  • External influences on behavior
  • Internal causes of behavior (correct)
  • Cultural factors affecting decisions
  • Social norms governing actions

    • Which statement best describes situational attribution?

  • It is based on environmental influences beyond a person's control. (correct)
  • It considers factors within the individual's personality.
  • It attributes behavior to a person's inherent character.
  • It identifies habitual patterns in a person's behavior.

    • What is a common consequence of making dispositional attributions?

  • Empathy towards others in distress
  • Increased understanding of social behavior
  • Judging a person's character too harshly (correct)
  • Recognition of personal behavioral influences

    • How do attributions typically affect our response to others' behavior?

    <p>They change based on whether we view behavior as situational or dispositional. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the Fundamental Attribution Error refer to?

    <p>The tendency to overlook external factors when evaluating others. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary factor that influenced subjects' decisions to render aid in the experiment?

    <p>The amount of urgency they felt to reach their destination (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the perception of intention affect our emotional response to someone's behavior?

    <p>We are more likely to feel anger if we perceive the action as intentional. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the fundamental attribution error refer to in relation to how we evaluate others' behaviors?

    <p>Focusing excessively on internal traits when assessing others' actions (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What effect does 'hurriedness' have on people's willingness to assist others, based on the findings?

    <p>It decreases their likelihood to help. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In evaluating someone else's behavior, we are most likely to hold them responsible when we believe their actions were:

    <p>Freely chosen and intentional (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Flashcards

    Attribution Theory

    Explaining others' behaviors by identifying internal or external causes.

    Dispositional Attribution

    Explaining behavior based on internal factors like personality or character.

    Situational Attribution

    Explaining behavior based on external factors like the environment or circumstances.

    Internal vs. External Cause

    A crucial distinction in attribution theory, differentiating between personal (personality) and environmental causes of behavior.

    Signup and view all the flashcards

    Impact of Attribution

    How attributions influence how we interpret and react to others' actions.

    Signup and view all the flashcards

    Situational Factor Effect

    The influence of environmental circumstances on behavior. For example, a person's rush or 'hurriedness' can drastically impact their willingness to help others.

    Signup and view all the flashcards

    Attribution

    The process of explaining the cause of someone's behavior, attributing it to either internal factors (personality) or external factors (environment).

    Signup and view all the flashcards

    Choice and Intention

    Two factors that significantly influence how we perceive someone's behavior: whether they had a choice in their actions and what their intention was.

    Signup and view all the flashcards

    Self-Serving Bias

    A tendency to attribute our own mistakes or failures to external factors, while attributing others' mistakes to internal factors.

    Signup and view all the flashcards

    Internal vs. External Attribution

    The distinction between explaining someone's behavior based on their personality traits (internal attribution) versus the circumstances they faced (external attribution).

    Signup and view all the flashcards

    Study Notes

    Attribution Theory

    • Humans naturally try to understand and explain others' behaviors
    • Attributions are explanations for others' behaviors
    • Attributions can be internal (dispositional) or external (situational)
    • Dispositional attributions focus on internal factors like personality, character traits
    • Situational attributions focus on external factors like environment, beyond the person's control

    Examples of Attribution

    • Rude driver in traffic: Internal (the driver is a jerk) vs External (they were fired)
    • Helping behavior: Internal (religious person) vs External (hurried)

    Fundamental Attribution Error

    • Tendency to overemphasize internal factors (personality, character): underemphasize situational factors
    • Judging others harshly based on a single incident of behavior: ignoring situation variables
    • Easily justifying our own bad behavior based on others' perceived poor character

    Choice and Intention

    • We hold people more responsible for a choice they freely make versus something unavoidable
    • Our perception of someone's intentions impacts how we react to their actions
    • Often, we blame others' mistakes on internal factors and our own mistakes on external factors

    Perspective on Attribution

    • We are more aware of situational influences on our own behavior
    • We often lack awareness of situational influences when judging other people
    • This leads us to overemphasize personal factors in other people's behavior

    Studying That Suits You

    Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

    Quiz Team

    Related Documents

    Attribution Theory PDF

    Description

    Explore the key concepts of attribution theory, including internal and external attributions. Understand the fundamental attribution error and how it affects our judgment of others' behaviors. This quiz delves into the nuances of how we interpret and explain actions in social contexts.

    More Like This

    Use Quizgecko on...
    Browser
    Open
    Browser
    Browser