Social Psychology

Social Cognition

• Attributions:- How do we explain behavior?

- WHY DID SHE DO WHAT SHE JUST DID?

We have a need to understand the world around us especially if it is confusing

Attribution theory

• Franz Heider (1958)– Dispositional (internal)• Traits, abilities, personality…

made them do it

– Situational (external)• Environmental, other people, situation made them do

it

Fundamental attribution error

• bias to attribute other people’s behavior to dispositional, internal personal factors while underestimating the effects of external, situational factors

INTERNAL external

Example:• Ethnic neighborhoods with crime and poverty• When one fails to get a job,

Fundamental attribution error

Actor observer bias– tendency of observers to make dispositional attributions for the behavior of others but to make

situational attributions for their own behavior when they are the actors

– When you are the: Actor=>situational– Observer => dispositional

• Examples:• When I don’t know how to do my job, it is due to lack• of training (the situation).• When you don’t know how to do the job, it is• incompetence (dispositional).

• When I come to the meeting unprepared and late, it is• because something came up or traffic was bad.• When you come unprepared and late, it is due to lack• of interest in the job.

Actor observer bias

Self-serving bias

• Tendency to make dispositional attributions for one’s successes and situational attributions for one’s failures

(individualistic cultures)

– Success= dispositional– Failure = situational

Self-serving bias

“When I win, it is skill” “When I lose, it is bad luck”

Self-effacing bias

• Blame ourselves for our failures - attributing them to internal personal causes while downplaying our successes by attributing them to external, situational causes – collectivistic cultures

“When I win, it is good luck”

“When I lose, I wasn’t trying”

Kelley’s model of attribution

• Consistency – does s/he always act like this?Extent to which a person behaves the same way in a given situation on different occasions - same over time

• Distinctiveness - will s/he act this way in another situation?the extent to which a person behaves the same way across different situations – or is it unique to the specific entity that is the target

• Consensus – does everyone act like this?Whether other people in the same situation tend to respond like

the person