PSYC 215 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Mexican Americans, Extraversion And Introversion, Dispositional Attribution

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 215
• Professor: John Lydon

Document Summary

The observer is inclined to attribute actions to properties of the actor, whereas the actor is more inclined to attribute the same action to situational forces. People engage in causal attribution because they need to draw inferences about others and themselves based on their behaviour. Attribution theory: an umbrella term used to describe the set of theoretical accounts of how people assign causes to the events around them and the effects that people"s causal assessments have. From acts to dispositions: inferring the causes of behavior: Causal attribution: linking an event to a cause, such as inferring that a personality trait was responsible for a behaviour. This is the process that people use to describe their own and other people"s behaviors. Systematic research on causal attribution has shown that people"s explanations have tremendous consequences in a number of areas, including health and education.