PSYC 2310 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Dispositional Attribution, Controllability, Fundamental Attribution Error
Document Summary
Social perception- how we form impressions of and make inferences about other people. If consensus and distinctiveness are low and consistency is high we make an internal or dispositional attribution. If consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency are all high, we make a situational attribution. Intergroup attribution- making attributions about one"s own and others" behaviours based on group membership: essentially attributions based on stereotypes, broader subject of prejudice and discrimination. Ethnocentrism- a tendency to attribute desirable characteristics to one"s own group and undesirable characteristics to outgroups. Fundamental attribution error (corresponding bias)- the tendency to overestimate the role of personal causes and underestimate the role of situational causes in explaining behaviour. When situational factors are salient, we"re less likely to make a dispositional attribution: the salience of the person influences our attributions, and usually others are more salient to us than ourselves. Distraction adds to people"s tendency to give insufficient weight to the situation and therefore overestimate the impact of disposition.
