PSY 1102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Fundamental Attribution Error, Cognitive Dissonance, Social Proof

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 1102
• Professor: Ersin Asliturk

Document Summary

Social psychologists explore connections by scientifically studying how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. Social psychologists: the scientific study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another. We want to understand and explain why people act as they do. Attribution theory: the theory that we explain someone"s behaviour by crediting either the situation or the person"s disposition. Fundamental attribution error: the tendency for observers, when analyzing another"s behaviour, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition. Westerners more often attribute behaviour to people"s personal traits. When we explain our own behaviour, we are sensitive to how behaviour changes with the situation, except for when we do something good-then we say it is for our own good reasons. We are most likely to commit the fundamental attribution error when a stranger acts badly.