Lecture 3: Attribution Theory

Question 1

The Naive scientist

Answer 1

People rationally and logically test out hypotheses about the behaviour of others because of the desire for consistency and stability

Form hypothesis: observe effect and look for cause

Question 2

Heider (1958) What 2 needs are people motivated by

Answer 2

1. form coherent view of the world: as there is so much information
2. gain control over the environment: to make the world more predictable

Question 3

Attribution

Answer 3

=process by which people use information to make inferences about the causes of behaviour and events

Question 4

Heider and Simmel 1944

Answer 4

1944
Showed people ascribe intentionality even to movement of geometric shapes: demonstrating our need to ascribe intentionality

Question 5

Intentionality

Answer 5

Purposeful or goal directed behaviour

Question 6

Locus of causality

• internal
• external

Answer 6

Causality is perceived to originate

• internal: explanation locates cause as being internal to person
• external- locates cause being external to the person

Question 7

Stability

Answer 7

Extent to which causes are perceived to be relatively stable and permanent vs temporary and fluctuating

Question 8

Controllability

Answer 8

Causes can be influenced by other vs extent to which they are random

Question 9

Correspondent Inference Theory

Answer 9

Jones and Davis
1965
Try to explain that the actions of someone relates to stable personality characteristics
*people prefer dispositional attributions rather than situational because dispositional are better for making predictions about behaviour
2 stages:
1. Was the action deliberate
2. Which personality trait caused it

Question 10

The Co-variation Model

Answer 10

Kelly
1967
Covariation=when behaviour occurs, seeming cause must be present at the same time
From multiple potential causes ascribe causality to the one that co-varies with the behaviour to the greatest extent

Question 11

The Co-variation Model: 3 types of info necessary to create attributions

Answer 11

Consensus= how much others react in the same way

Consistency= how much target person reacts in the same way on different occasions

Distinctiveness= how much target person reacts in the same way in other social contexts

Question 12

Biases in Attribution

FAE

Answer 12

Biases towards making internal attributions rather than external

Question 13

Jones and Harris 1967

Answer 13

1967

*****

Question 14

Biases in Attribution

The actor observer bias

Answer 14

People attribute own behaviour to external causes but others to external (Jones and Nisbett, 1972)
Perceptual salience- actors attention is away from themselves (external), observers attention is on actor (internal)

Question 15

Heuristics

Answer 15

Time saving mental shortcuts that reduce complex judgments to simple rules of thumb

Question 16

Representative Heuristics

Answer 16

Allocating set of attributes to a person if they match a stereotype stored in memory

Question 17

Availability Heuristics

Answer 17

Associations that come easily to mind therefore considered more common than they are

• the tendency to judge the frequency of an event in terms of how easy it is to bring to mind example of the particular event
• the easier it is for something to come to mind, the more likely to is that it’ll effect out behaviour

Question 18

False consensus effect

Answer 18

Tendency to exaggerate how common our own opinions are in the general population

Question 19

The Motivated Tactician

Answer 19

The idea that people are neither cognitive misers or naive scientists. Instead they are strategic in their allocation of cognitive resources, deciding whether to be a cognitive miser or a naive scientist depending on the situation
Kruglanski (1996): flexible social thinkers, chose between multiple cognitive strategies
i.e speed/ease vs accuracy/logic based on current goals/motives/needs

Question 20

Cognitive Miser

Answer 20

Theory that, far from being naive scientists, we are reluctant to expend cognitive resources and look for any opportunity to avoid engaging in effortful thought