Attribution Theory and Person Perception
How do we explain other people's behavior? Attribution theory examines how we determine whether someone's actions are caused by their personality or their situation.
🧠 Dispositional (Internal)
Attributing behavior to the person's character, personality, or abilities.
"She failed because she's not smart."
🌍 Situational (External)
Attributing behavior to the circumstances or environment.
"She failed because the test was unfair."
Scenario: Someone cuts you off in traffic.
Your likely thought: "What a jerk!" (dispositional attribution)
Reality might be: They're rushing to the hospital (situational)
When YOU cut someone off, you probably think "I'm running late" (situational)—but you don't give others the same benefit.
| Bias | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental Attribution Error | Overestimate disposition for others' behavior | "He's rude" vs. "He's having a bad day" |
| Self-Serving Bias | Attribute successes to self, failures to situation | "I aced it because I'm smart; I failed because the test was hard" |
| Actor-Observer Bias | Attribute our own behavior to situation, others' to disposition | "I tripped because the floor is slippery; she tripped because she's clumsy" |
| Just-World Hypothesis | Belief that people get what they deserve | Blaming victims: "They must have done something wrong" |
- FAE is culture-dependent: More common in individualistic cultures (US, Western Europe); collectivist cultures consider situation more.
- Self-serving bias protects self-esteem—it's adaptive but can distort reality.
- Just-world hypothesis can lead to victim-blaming—important for understanding reactions to crime/poverty.
1) Maria gets an A on her exam and says, "I'm really good at this subject." She gets a D on the next exam and says, "That test was unfair." What bias is this?
2) Why might the fundamental attribution error be less common in Japan than in the United States?
Show Answers
1) Self-serving bias—attributing success to internal factors (her ability) and failure to external factors (unfair test).
2) Japan has a more collectivist culture that emphasizes context, relationships, and situational factors. Individualistic cultures (like the US) focus more on personal traits and individual responsibility, making dispositional attributions more common.
Attitude Formation and Attitude Change
Attitudes are evaluations of people, objects, or ideas. They have three components and can be changed through various mechanisms—understanding this is key for persuasion and marketing.
A - Affective
Feelings
Emotional reactions to the object
"I feel happy around dogs"
B - Behavioral
Actions
How you act toward the object
"I pet dogs when I see them"
C - Cognitive
Thoughts
Beliefs about the object
"Dogs are loyal companions"
Participants did a boring task, then were paid either $1 or $20 to tell the next participant it was fun.
Result: Those paid only $1 later rated the task as more enjoyable!
Why? The $20 group had external justification for lying. The $1 group experienced cognitive dissonance ("I lied for just $1?") and resolved it by actually believing the task was fun.
Less external justification = more attitude change to reduce dissonance.
Two routes to persuasion:
🧠 Central Route
Focus on the quality of arguments
Requires motivation and ability to think
Leads to lasting attitude change
Ex: Reading research before buying a car
⚡ Peripheral Route
Focus on superficial cues
Attractive spokesperson, catchy jingle, emotions
Leads to temporary attitude change
Ex: Buying a product because a celebrity endorsed it
| Technique | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Foot-in-the-Door | Small request first, then larger request | "Can you sign this petition?" → "Will you donate $50?" |
| Door-in-the-Face | Large request first (rejected), then smaller request | "Donate $500?" (No) → "How about $20?" |
| Lowball Technique | Get commitment, then reveal hidden costs | Car price quoted, then "fees" added after you agree |
| That's-Not-All | Make offer, then improve it before response | "$50 for this pan... but wait, I'll include a free lid!" |
- Cognitive dissonance is reduced by changing attitudes, changing behavior, or adding cognitions.
- Central route = lasting change; Peripheral route = temporary change.
- Foot-in-door vs. Door-in-face: Both work through commitment/reciprocity—know the difference!
1) A vegetarian accidentally eats meat and then decides "it's not that bad to eat meat occasionally." What concept explains this?
2) A charity asks you to volunteer 40 hours/week (you decline), then asks for 2 hours (you agree). What technique is this?
Show Answers
1) Cognitive dissonance—their behavior (eating meat) conflicted with their attitude (vegetarianism), so they reduced dissonance by changing their attitude.
2) Door-in-the-face technique—the initial large request makes the smaller follow-up request seem reasonable by comparison (reciprocal concession).
Psychology of Social Situations
How do social situations influence our behavior? Classic studies reveal that ordinary people can do extraordinary things—both good and bad—depending on the social context.
Adjusting behavior or thinking to match group standards.
Participants judged which line matched a standard line. Confederate "participants" gave obviously wrong answers.
Results: 75% conformed at least once; 1/3 conformed on most trials.
Factors increasing conformity:
- Group size (up to about 4-5 people)
- Unanimity (one dissenter reduces conformity dramatically)
- Public responses (vs. private)
- Admiration for the group
Following direct orders from an authority figure.
"Teachers" were ordered to deliver increasingly severe shocks to "learners" (confederates) for wrong answers.
Results: 65% delivered the maximum 450-volt shock when ordered by an authority figure in a lab coat.
Factors increasing obedience:
- Authority figure present and legitimate
- Victim in another room (distance)
- Prestigious institution (Yale)
- Gradual escalation of demands
- No role models for defiance
This study is controversial for ethical reasons but revealed how ordinary people can commit harmful acts under authority.
| Phenomenon | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Social Facilitation | Improved performance on easy tasks when others are present; worse on difficult tasks | Running faster with an audience; choking on a hard test |
| Social Loafing | Reduced effort when working in a group | Not pulling as hard in tug-of-war |
| Deindividuation | Loss of self-awareness in groups; may lead to impulsive behavior | Mob behavior, online anonymity |
| Group Polarization | Group discussion strengthens prevailing opinions | Political echo chambers become more extreme |
| Groupthink | Desire for harmony overrides realistic evaluation of alternatives | Bay of Pigs invasion decision |
Darley & Latané studied why bystanders don't help:
- Notice the event
- Interpret it as an emergency
- Assume responsibility to help
- Know how to help
- Decide to help
More bystanders = more diffusion at each step. Pluralistic ignorance: everyone looks calm, so no one thinks it's an emergency.
- Conformity (Asch) = peer pressure; Obedience (Milgram) = authority pressure.
- Social facilitation depends on task difficulty: easy = better; hard = worse.
- Groupthink symptoms: illusion of invulnerability, self-censorship, pressure on dissenters.
1) A student performs worse on a difficult piano piece at a recital than when practicing alone. What concept explains this?
2) In Milgram's study, what happened when participants could see another "teacher" refuse to continue?
Show Answers
1) Social facilitation (or social inhibition)—the presence of others improves performance on easy/well-learned tasks but impairs performance on difficult tasks due to increased arousal.
2) Obedience dropped dramatically (to about 10%). Having a role model for defiance made it much easier to resist authority.
Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories of Personality
How is personality formed? Psychodynamic theories emphasize unconscious forces and early experiences, while humanistic theories focus on growth, free will, and self-actualization.
| Stage | Age | Focus | Fixation Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral | 0-18 months | Mouth (sucking, biting) | Smoking, overeating, nail-biting, dependency |
| Anal | 18-36 months | Bowel control | Anal-retentive (orderly) or anal-expulsive (messy) |
| Phallic | 3-6 years | Genitals; Oedipus/Electra complex | Vanity, problems with authority |
| Latency | 6-puberty | Dormant sexual feelings | N/A (focus on school, friends) |
| Genital | Puberty+ | Mature sexual interests | Healthy adult relationships (if prior stages resolved) |
Unconscious strategies the ego uses to protect itself from anxiety:
| Mechanism | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Repression | Pushing threatening thoughts into unconscious | Forgetting a traumatic event |
| Denial | Refusing to accept reality | "I don't have a drinking problem" |
| Projection | Attributing your own unacceptable feelings to others | A cheater accuses partner of cheating |
| Rationalization | Creating logical excuses for unacceptable behavior | "I only cheated because everyone else does" |
| Displacement | Redirecting emotions to a safer target | Yelling at family after bad day at work |
| Sublimation | Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities | Aggressive urges → competitive sports |
| Reaction Formation | Acting opposite to threatening impulses | Someone attracted to same sex becomes homophobic |
| Regression | Reverting to earlier developmental behavior | Adult throws tantrum when stressed |
Psychoanalysts who accepted some of Freud's ideas but modified or rejected others:
Carl Jung
Added collective unconscious (shared ancestral memories) and archetypes (universal symbols).
Alfred Adler
Emphasized inferiority complex and striving for superiority; social interest over sex drive.
Karen Horney
Challenged Freud's views on women; emphasized basic anxiety and social/cultural factors.
Erik Erikson
Focused on psychosocial (not psychosexual) development across the entire lifespan.
Focus on conscious experience, free will, and human potential for growth.
- Defense mechanisms are frequently tested—know them all!
- Criticism of Freud: Unscientific (unfalsifiable), overemphasis on sex, based on limited sample.
- Maslow's hierarchy: Must satisfy lower needs before higher needs (though this is debated).
1) A man who is attracted to his coworker constantly accuses his wife of being attracted to other men. What defense mechanism is this?
2) According to Rogers, what happens when parents give love only when a child meets certain conditions?
Show Answers
1) Projection—he's attributing his own unacceptable feelings (attraction to someone else) to his wife.
2) The child develops conditions of worth and may develop a gap between their real self and ideal self. They learn to hide parts of themselves to gain approval, which Rogers believed leads to psychological problems. Children need unconditional positive regard for healthy development.
Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of Personality
Beyond unconscious forces and self-actualization, personality can be understood through learned behaviors, cognitive patterns, and stable traits that vary across individuals.
Personality emerges from the interaction of behaviors, thoughts, and environment.
🎯 Internal Locus
Belief that YOU control your outcomes.
"I got an A because I studied hard."
Associated with: more achievement, better health behaviors
🎲 External Locus
Belief that OUTSIDE FORCES control your outcomes.
"I got an A because the test was easy."
Associated with: more anxiety, learned helplessness
Personality consists of stable characteristics that predict behavior across situations.
| Trait | High Scorers | Low Scorers |
|---|---|---|
| Openness | Creative, curious, open to new experiences | Practical, conventional, prefer routine |
| Conscientiousness | Organized, disciplined, goal-oriented | Spontaneous, flexible, careless |
| Extraversion | Outgoing, energetic, talkative | Reserved, quiet, prefer solitude |
| Agreeableness | Cooperative, trusting, helpful | Competitive, skeptical, challenging |
| Neuroticism | Anxious, moody, emotionally unstable | Calm, secure, emotionally stable |
Memory trick: OCEAN or CANOE
| Method | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Report Inventories | Standardized questionnaires with objective scoring | MMPI, Big Five Inventory |
| Projective Tests | Ambiguous stimuli interpreted by subject; reveals unconscious | Rorschach Inkblots, TAT |
- Big Five is the most empirically supported trait model—know all five!
- Self-efficacy ≠ self-esteem: Self-efficacy is task-specific ("I can do this math problem"); self-esteem is general ("I'm a good person").
- Projective tests: Low reliability/validity but claimed to access unconscious.
1) A student believes she can master calculus if she works hard enough. What concept does this represent?
2) What's the main criticism of projective tests like the Rorschach?
Show Answers
1) Self-efficacy—her belief in her ability to succeed at the specific task of learning calculus.
2) Low reliability (different interpreters may score differently) and low validity (doesn't consistently measure what it claims to measure). Interpretation is subjective, and results don't reliably predict behavior or diagnoses.
Motivation
What drives our behavior? Motivation is the need or desire that energizes and directs behavior toward a goal. Understanding motivation helps explain why we do what we do.
| Theory | Key Idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Instinct Theory | Behavior is driven by innate, fixed patterns | Birds migrate, salmon swim upstream |
| Drive-Reduction Theory | Physiological needs create drives that motivate behavior to restore homeostasis | Hunger drives eating to restore energy balance |
| Arousal Theory | We seek optimal level of arousal (not too high, not too low) | Thrill-seekers vs. those who prefer calm |
| Incentive Theory | External rewards/punishments pull behavior | Working for a paycheck or praise |
| Hierarchy of Needs | Needs arranged in pyramid; lower needs must be met first | Maslow's pyramid (see 4.4) |
When external rewards are given for intrinsically enjoyable activities, intrinsic motivation can decrease.
Classic study: Children who loved drawing were given rewards for drawing. Later, when rewards stopped, they drew less than children who were never rewarded!
Implication: Be careful about rewarding activities people already enjoy—it can backfire.
Biological factors:
- Hypothalamus: Contains hunger and satiety centers
- Lateral hypothalamus: Stimulates hunger ("L" = "Longing for food")
- Ventromedial hypothalamus: Signals satiety ("V" = "Very full")
- Glucose levels: Low blood sugar triggers hunger
- Ghrelin: Hormone that increases hunger (from stomach)
- Leptin: Hormone that decreases hunger (from fat cells)
- Set point: Body's preferred weight that it tries to maintain
Psychological factors: Taste preferences, learned associations, stress eating, social influences
- Yerkes-Dodson Law: Moderate arousal = optimal performance. Too little or too much arousal impairs performance.
- Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic: Overjustification effect shows external rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation.
- Hunger hormones: Ghrelin = "Growling" stomach (hunger); Leptin = "Less" eating (satiety).
1) A child loves reading for fun. Her parents start paying her $5 for every book she reads. What might happen to her reading when the payments stop?
2) What brain structure would be damaged if an animal couldn't stop eating?
Show Answers
1) Her reading may decrease due to the overjustification effect. The external reward (money) replaced her intrinsic motivation, so when the reward is removed, she has less motivation than before.
2) The ventromedial hypothalamus, which signals satiety (fullness). Damage to this area results in overeating because the "stop eating" signal is missing.
Emotion
Emotions involve physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience. But which comes first—the feeling or the physical response? Different theories offer different answers.
💓 Physiological
Body reactions: heart rate, sweating, hormones
Autonomic nervous system activation
🎭 Behavioral
Expressive actions: facial expressions, body language, voice
Observable expressions
🧠 Cognitive
Subjective experience: "I feel happy/sad/angry"
Conscious awareness
| Theory | Order of Events | Key Point |
|---|---|---|
| James-Lange | Stimulus → Body response → Emotion | We feel emotions BECAUSE of body changes |
| Cannon-Bard | Stimulus → Body response + Emotion (simultaneous) | Arousal and emotion happen at the same time |
| Schachter-Singer | Stimulus → Arousal → Cognitive label → Emotion | We interpret arousal based on context |
| Lazarus | Stimulus → Cognitive appraisal → Emotion | Thinking/interpretation comes FIRST |
- Amygdala: Fear processing; emotional memories; can bypass cortex for fast response
- Prefrontal cortex: Emotional regulation; decision-making involving emotions
- Two pathways: Fast "low road" (thalamus → amygdala) vs. slow "high road" (thalamus → cortex → amygdala)
Participants were injected with adrenaline (causing arousal). Some were told about side effects, others weren't.
Those who weren't informed labeled their arousal based on the environment—they felt "happy" with a euphoric confederate or "angry" with an irritated one.
This supported the two-factor theory: we interpret physiological arousal using cognitive cues from our environment.
- Know all four theories—they're frequently tested and compared!
- James-Lange = body first; Cannon-Bard = simultaneous; Schachter-Singer = arousal + label; Lazarus = cognition first.
- Amygdala = fear; can process emotional stimuli before conscious awareness.
1) You see a bear, your heart races, then you feel afraid. Which theory does this support?
2) According to the facial feedback hypothesis, what should happen if you hold a pencil in your teeth (forcing a smile) while watching cartoons?
Show Answers
1) James-Lange theory—the body response (racing heart) comes before the conscious emotional experience (fear).
2) You should find the cartoons funnier. The facial feedback hypothesis suggests that the physical act of smiling (even if forced) feeds back to your brain and increases the feeling of happiness/amusement.