PSY 2012 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Fundamental Attribution Error, Trait Theory, Nomothetic
13 Apr 2018
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Document Summary
Fundamental attribution error- the tendency to attribute too much of others" behavior to their dispositions, including their personalities, and not enough to the situations they confront. Personality- people"s typical ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Traits- relatively enduring predispositions that influence our behavior across many situations. Nomothetic approach- strives to understand personality by identifying general laws that govern the behavior of all individuals: limited insight into the unique patterning of attributes within one person. Idiographic approach- strives to understand personality by identifying the unique configuration of characteristics and life history experiences within a person: limited generalizability to other people. Three broad sets of influences on personality: genetic factors, shared environmental factors- experiences that make individuals within the same family alike, nonshared environmental factors- experiences that make individuals within the same family less alike. Not really any such thing as a gay gene or one gene having a direct influence on a personality trait or belief.
