How we explain behaviour
Social psychology studies how other people, real or imagined, influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Attributions
When we explain behaviour, we make attributions. Dispositional (internal) attributions point to personality: 'she was late because she is careless'. Situational (external) attributions point to circumstances: 'she was late because of traffic'. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasise personality and underestimate the situation when judging others.
Self-serving bias and the just-world belief
The self-serving bias leads people to credit their successes to their own abilities and blame failures on outside factors. People with a strong just-world belief assume life is fair, so good things happen to good people and bad things to bad people; this assumption can lead them to blame victims for their misfortune.
Attitudes and cognitive dissonance
Attitudes are evaluations of people, objects, or ideas. Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory says that when our actions conflict with our beliefs, we feel discomfort and often change our beliefs to match our actions. A person who smokes while knowing it is harmful may downplay the risks to reduce that discomfort.
Flashcard
Overemphasising personality when explaining others' behaviour
Check your understanding
A driver cuts you off and you assume he is a rude person, not considering he might be rushing to a hospital. This is: