PSYCH 1X03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Trait Theory, Sheamus, Representativeness Heuristic

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH 1X03
• Professor: Joe Kim

Document Summary

For every observed behaviour, there are many possible motivations. Is the behaviour based on a fixed personality trait or a situation which the person is faced with. Actively analyze a person"s behaviour to make inferences. What choice did the person have in acting the way they did. Hard to take this into consideration, ex. actors: expection. Uncommon behaviour gives up more information the common behaviour. Are they behaving in a typical or uncharacteristic way: intended consequences. Consider the intentions and motivation behind a behaviour. Ex. inferences about a tobacco company sponsoring an anti smoking commercial. How a person"s behaviour can be attributed to either personal dispositional or situational circumstances. Three variables are looked at to decide if it is dispositional or situational. Does the individual behave differently in different situations( if yes, the behaviour is probably driven by the current situation: consensus. Do others behave similarly in this situation? ( if yes- situational)