actor observer bias vs fundamental attribution error

#Actor observer bias vs fundamental attribution error how to

To better understand, imagine this scenario: Greg returns home from work, and upon opening the front door his wife happily greets him and inquires about his day. The term attribution means to determine the cause of an outcome. This erroneous assumption is called the fundamental attribution error (Ross, 1977 Riggio & Garcia, 2009). This corresponds with a tendency to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. People, especially in western cultures, have a tendency to overemphasize internal factors as explanations-or attributions-for the behavior of other people. Why do you think this is? We tend to think that people are in control of their own behaviors, and, therefore, any behavior change must be due to something internal, such as their personality, habits, or temperament. In the United States, the predominant culture tends to favor a dispositional approach in explaining human behavior. In fact, the field of social-personality psychology has emerged to study the complex interaction of internal and situational factors that affect human behavior (Mischel, 1977 Richard, Bond, & Stokes-Zoota, 2003). Modern approaches to social psychology, however, take both the situation and the individual into account when studying human behavior (Fiske, Gilbert, & Lindzey, 2010). Social psychologists have tended to take the situationist perspective, whereas personality psychologists have promoted the dispositionist perspective. An internal factor is an attribute of a person and includes personality traits and temperament. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined largely by internal factors (Heider, 1958). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined largely by our immediate environment and surroundings. SITUATIONAL AND DISPOSITIONAL INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIORīehavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). In this chapter, we discuss the intrapersonal processes of self-presentation, cognitive dissonance and attitude change, and the interpersonal processes of conformity and obedience, aggression and altruism, and, finally, love and attraction. Thus, social psychology studies individuals in a social context and how situational variables interact to influence behavior. Social psychologists focus on how people construe or interpret situations and how these interpretations influence their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Ross & Nisbett, 1991). Social psychology deals with all kinds of interactions between people, spanning a wide range of how we connect: from moments of confrontation to moments of working together and helping others, as shown here. Interpersonal topics (those that pertain to dyads and groups) include helping behavior (figure below), aggression, prejudice and discrimination, attraction and close relationships, and group processes and intergroup relationships. Intrapersonal topics (those that pertain to the individual) include emotions and attitudes, the self, and social cognition (the ways in which we think about ourselves and others). The field of social psychology studies topics at both the intra- and interpersonal levels.

#Actor observer bias vs fundamental attribution error how to

If we are in a new situation or are unsure how to behave, we will take our cues from other individuals. In other situations less structured by social norms individuals may be more likely to allow their own idiosyncratic personality characteristics show. In some cases people will change their behavior to align with the social situation at hand. Social psychologists assert that an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are very much influenced by social situations. Most research reported in this chapter employs random assignment of participants to different conditions to neutralize any explanatory power individual personality characteristics might have over behavior within these situations. The focus of most research in social psychology is how situational characteristics alters human psychology separate from personality characteristics. Social psychology examines how people, or even the imagined presence of others, affect how people think, feel, and behave.

Describe the fundamental attribution error.Describe situational versus dispositional influences on behavior.By the end of this section, you will be able to: