Describes how we attach meanings to our own and other’s behavior. Also it explains how we interpret events around us, which relates to our own thought process and behavior
Two types of attributions
Internal attribution and External attribution
Internal attribution
Dispositional. The attitude, characteristics, motivation, emotions, personality, beliefs and etc. about a person explains why that person behave certain way
External attribution
Situational. The way that person behaves is because of a particular situation
Three stage process of attribution
Behavior is observed, Behavior is determined to be deliberate, Behavior is attributed to internal or external causes
Achievement can be attributed to
Effort, Ability, Level difficult in task, Luck
Attribution is classified along three casual dimensions
Locus of control, Stability, Controllability
Fundamental attribution error
Also known as correspondence bias or attribution effect. Describes that people tend to judge others based on their dispositional factors (internal attributions) rather than situational factors (external attributions). We often make unethical decisions and judgments because of such tendency
How to avoid fundamental attribution error
“Put yourself in the other person’s shoes”
How culture affects attributions
Individualist cultures & Collectivist cultures
Individualist cultures
Include northern America and western Europe, People from such cultures have high value on uniqueness and independence, This culture emphasizes on individual goals, People define themselves in terms of personal attributes
Collectivist cultures
Include Asia, Latin America, and Africa, People from such cultures have high value on conformity and interdependence, This culture emphasizes on group goals, People define themselves in terms of their membership in groups, People in this culture are less susceptible to the fundamental attribution error than those in individualist culture
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Self-perceptions
The way we see our self. Our beliefs, past experiences, gender, age, culture and etc. affect our perception of self
Self-perception theory
says that people develop their own perception by observing themselves, interacting with others, and behaving in different circumstances
The way we perceive ourselves
affect how we perceive others
Our own self-perceptions work as a foundation to form impression of others
Depending on how you perceive your own roles, social norms, physical cues, and class, you perceive others differently. Let say one perceives oneself to be not very successful because of poor pay at work. Thus this person may perceive others who have a better pay at work more successful.
Perceptions of the Environment
Involves more complex, large-scale scenes. Perception of the environment
Perception of the environment includes
Social situation, Work, Time, Settings,These influence how one perceives others
The time one observes a situation can change one’s attention
For example, a guy sees a bunch of girls dressed in gold dresses as beautiful and sexy on Saturday night at a club. However, when the same guy sees a bunch of girls dressed in gold dresses at his work, he would perceive them differently.
Prejudice
Negative belief and unjustified attitude toward people in a specific social group. Some defines it as prejudgment of members of a group. Involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and tendency to discriminate against others
Different types of prejudices include
Racism, Classicism, Sexism, Nationalism, Agism , Religious prejudice, Homophobia
Processes that Contribute to Prejudice
Power, prestige and class
Power
Ability to control other people’s behavior
Political power
the power held by a political group. Favoring a certain political view and enforcing laws to support certain groups of people. Bribes, vetting candidates, etc.
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Economical power
the power held by wealth. Ability to take control over in organizations, properties, etc. Low wage jobs for minority groups
Personal power
the power held by an individual. Variety of power can be held by a person including economic, defensive, and destructive power
Prestige
Refers to a good reputation, People with different occupations: Lawyers, doctors vs. service works
Class
Lower, middle, and upper class, Lower class is poor because they are lazy, Upper class is rich because they work hard
The role of emotion in prejudice
Aroused by expression or thoughts
The role of cognition in prejudice
What people believe is true and Faulty memory processes
Stereotypes
A shared belief about people into a specific categories
Psychologist Gordon Allport
proposed as a result of human thinking and categorizing information and knowledge, prejudice and stereotypes emerge.
Advantages of stereotypes
Allow us to process new information rapidly because we have had similar experiences in the past. Enable us to predict other people’s behavior
Disadvantage of stereotypes
Make us generalize others (ignore/acknowledge the differences). Drive people to exaggerate differences among groups
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Types of stereotypes (Based on race, nationality, culture, gender, social class, and etc.)
Positive and Negative
Positive
Good characteristics of a group
Positive Examples include
Asians are smart, Blacks are good at basketball, Indians are spiritual, Latinos can dance well
Negative
Overly simplified group
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Negative Examples include: Girls are not good at sports, Guys are messy, All teenagers are rebels
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Ethnocentrism
The view that believes one culture/ethnic group is superior than the others. Judgment based on other’s language, religion, behavior, and customs relative to one’s own. Can lead to misjudgment of others and discrimination
In-group
Social group that one identifies his or herself as a member. Associated with in-group favoritism, people prefer in-group over the out-group
Out-group
Social group that one does not identify as a member. Associated with out-group derogation, people from out-group is observed as a threat to the in-group
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Cultural relativism
No culture is superior than the other. No one can judge other’s culture, one’s language, religion, behavior and customs are relative to the individual within a cultural identity
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Also known as Pygmalion effect. An expectation about circumstances, events, or people that affect person’s behavior toward them eventually confirms that expectation
Studies done by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson
An elementary school teacher told students that they were very clever although they were actually around average. The next day when those students were tested, they scored better than those who were not ‘expected’ or told to do well
Steps to self-fulfilling prophecy
Person A expects a certain behavior from person B, Person A behaves in such a way to elicit the expected behavior from person B, Person B behaves as person A expected, Person A observes expected behavior ➙ person A is self-fulfilled. For example, stereotype threat about one’s race or gender before taking a test result in poor score
Stereotype Threat
A psychological phenomenon of one feeling at risk of confirming negative stereotypes. Causes anxiety and result in poor performances in people
Steven Spencer’s studies have shown that
Women performed worse on a math test than did man with similar intelligence level, although women were equally intelligent as men, they performed not as well because of stereotype threat. There is negative stereotype about women that they are not as intelligent as men. Women performed similar to men when they were led to believe that women perform similar to men before the test. Women performed better when tested within all women group than in mixed-gender group
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