PSYC 1010 Lecture Notes - Social Loafing, Social Cognitive Theory, Disinhibition

• School: York University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1010
• Professor: all

Document Summary

Attributions-judgements about the causes of our own and other people"s behavior and outcomes. Personal (internal attributions infer that people"s behavior is caused by their characteristics. My a on the exam reflects my high ability. Situation (external) attributions infer that aspects of the situation cause a behavior. I received an a because it was easy. 3 types of information determine the attribution we make: When consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus are all high, we are likely to make a situational attribution. But if consistency is high and the other 2 are low, we make a personal attribution. Fundamental attribution error-we underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the role of personal factors when explaining other people"s behavior. Self-serving bias- making relatively more personal attributions for success and more situational attributions for failure. Many studies suggest that the tendency to attribute other people"s behavior to personal factors reflects a westernized emphasis on individualism. Culture also influences attributions for our own behavior.