2 Psych 160 - 9

Front 1

Actor-observer difference

Back 1

• Differences in attribution based on who is making the causal assessment: the actor (who is relatively disposed to make situational attributions) or the observer (who is relatively disposed to make dispositional attributions)
o People often explain their own actions in terms of the situation and the actions of others in terms of the person

Front 2

Attribution theory

Back 2

• 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

Front 3

Augmentation principle

Back 3

• The idea that we should assign greater weight to a particular cause of behavior if there are other causes present that normally would produce the opposite outcome
o If someone advocates a position despite being threatened with torture for doing so, we can safely conclude that the person really and truly believes in that position

Front 4

Counterfactual thoughts

Back 4

• Thoughts of what might have, could have, or should have happened “if on ly” something had been done differently
o Study – when the alternative also contained wine, less causal weight assigned to boss. When alternative did not contain wine, more causal weight assigned to boss.
o Analysis – silver medalists seemed to be less happy than the bronze medalists. This appears to result from silver medalists being consume by what they did not receive, the coveted gold medal, whereas the bronze medalists focused on what they did receive—a medal.

Front 5

Covariation principle

Back 5

• The idea that we should attribute potential behavior to potential causes that co-occur w/ the behavior
o Does the effect occur when the supposed cause is present, and does the effect fail to occur when the supposed cause is absent. If so, then our confidence that the true cause has been identified is increased

Front 6

Discounting principle

Back 6

• The idea that we should assign reduced weight to a particular cause of behavior if there are other plausible causes that might have produced it
o If you can’t believe what someone says under the threat of torture because the threat is sufficient to get most people to say almost anything
o Study – participants witnessed another person present himself in ether an extraverted or introverted manner during an interview. Half of the participants were led to believe he was interviewing for a job as a submariner, a position that required close contact w/ many peeps over a long per iod of time and thus favored extraverted personalities. The other participants thought he was interviewing for a job as an astronaut, which involved long periods of solitude and thus favored an introverted personality. Half of the participants witnessed behavior that conformed to the dictates of the situation, and since the behavior fit the situation in these instances, it was difficult to judge whether the behavior was a true reflection of the person being interviewed. In contrast, other participants witnessed behavior that defied the dicates of the situation, and since the behavior was at variance with what is called for in the situation, it should be seen as a clear reflection of the interviewee’s true self

Front 7

False consensus effect

Back 7

• The tendency for people to think that their behavior (as well as that of their attitudes, preferences, or responses more generally) is relatively uncommon
o People who believe something tend to estimate that a higher percentage of the general population shares that belief than do people with a different belief
o Study – Stanford students were asked if they’d be willing to walk around campus wearing a large sandwich-board sign bearing the word “Repent” and to note other students’ reactions. Or, if they preferred, they could choose to perform a more standard experimental task in the lab. About half the participants were willing to walk around campus wearing the sign. Those who agreed to wear the sign estimated that 64% would do so, whereas those who refused to wear it thought that only 23% would agree to do so

Front 8

Just world hypothesis

Back 8

• The belief that people get what they deserve in life and deserve what they get

Front 9

Self-serving bias

Back 9

• The tendency to attribute failure and other bad events to external circumstances, but to attribute success and other good events to oneself