PSYB10H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Dispositional Attribution, Fidel Castro, Covariance
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Attribution theory: a set of concepts explaining how people assign causes to the events a(cid:396)ou(cid:374)d the(cid:373), a(cid:374)d the effe(cid:272)ts of people"s (cid:272)ausal assess(cid:373)e(cid:374)ts. From acts to dispositions: inferring the causes of behaviour. Resea(cid:396)(cid:272)h o(cid:374) (cid:272)ausal att(cid:396)i(cid:271)utio(cid:374) has sho(cid:449)(cid:374) that people"s e(cid:454)pla(cid:374)atio(cid:374)s ha(cid:448)e t(cid:396)e(cid:373)e(cid:374)dous consequences in a number of areas, including health and education. Explanatory style: (cid:396)efe(cid:396)s to a pe(cid:396)so(cid:374)"s ha(cid:271)itual (cid:449)a(cid:455) of e(cid:454)plai(cid:374)i(cid:374)g e(cid:448)e(cid:374)ts, a(cid:374)d it"s assessed along 3 dimensions: internal/external, stable/unstable, and global/specific. A tendency to explain negative events in terms of internal, stable, and global causes is considered a pessimistic explanatory style, and is related to many undesirable life outcomes. Optimistic explanatory style (external, unstable, and specific) has been shown to be a good predictor of physical health in later life: attributions about controllability. A(cid:374)de(cid:396)so(cid:374) a(cid:374)d wie(cid:374)e(cid:396) ha(cid:448)e sho(cid:449)(cid:374) that people"s att(cid:396)i(cid:271)utio(cid:374)al st(cid:455)le has a powerful effect on their long-term outcomes: attri(cid:271)utio(cid:374)s for failure that i(cid:373)ply (cid:272)o(cid:374)trolla(cid:271)ility (cid:894)eg.
