All Flashcards
Define Attribution Theory.
How we explain behavior, both our own and others'.
Define Dispositional Attribution.
Explaining behavior based on a person's character or personality (internal).
Define Situational Attribution.
Explaining behavior based on circumstances or environment (external).
Define Explanatory Style.
Your go-to way of explaining why things happen, especially good and bad events.
Define Actor-Observer Bias.
Blaming our actions on the situation, but blaming others' actions on their personality.
Define Fundamental Attribution Error.
Overemphasizing personality and underemphasizing the situation when explaining others' behavior.
Define Self-Serving Bias.
Taking credit for our successes (internal) and blaming our failures on external factors.
Define Locus of Control.
Belief about whether you control your life or if outside forces do.
Define Internal Locus of Control.
Belief that you control your own destiny.
Define External Locus of Control.
Belief that fate, luck, or other people control your life.
Define Mere Exposure Effect.
The more we're exposed to something, the more we tend to like it.
Define Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
Your beliefs about someone can lead you to act in ways that make those beliefs come true.
Define Social Comparison.
Evaluating ourselves by comparing ourselves to others.
Define Relative Deprivation.
Feeling deprived of something you think you deserve, often based on social comparisons.
Compare internal and external attributions.
Internal attributions focus on personal characteristics; external attributions focus on situational factors.
Compare optimistic and pessimistic explanatory styles.
Optimistic styles attribute good events to internal factors and bad events to external factors, while pessimistic styles do the opposite.
Compare actor-observer bias and fundamental attribution error.
Actor-observer bias involves explaining our own behavior, while fundamental attribution error involves explaining others' behavior.
Compare upward and downward social comparison.
Upward comparison is comparing to someone better off, downward is comparing to someone worse off.
Compare internal and external locus of control.
Internal locus of control is the belief that you control your own destiny, while external locus of control is the belief that outside forces control your life.
Compare the fundamental attribution error and the self-serving bias.
The fundamental attribution error is about judging others' behavior, while the self-serving bias is about judging our own behavior.
Compare dispositional and situational attributions.
Dispositional attributions explain behavior based on internal factors, while situational attributions explain behavior based on external factors.
Compare optimistic and pessimistic explanatory styles in terms of their impact on motivation.
Optimistic styles tend to enhance motivation, while pessimistic styles tend to decrease it.
Compare the effects of upward and downward social comparison on self-esteem.
Upward social comparison can lower self-esteem, while downward social comparison can raise it.
Compare the impact of internal and external locus of control on academic performance.
Students with an internal locus of control tend to perform better academically due to their belief in their own abilities and efforts, while those with an external locus may feel helpless and less motivated.
What is an optimistic explanatory style?
Good things are internal, stable, and global; bad things are external, unstable, and specific.
What is a pessimistic explanatory style?
Good things are external, unstable, and specific; bad things are internal, stable, and global.
What is upward social comparison?
Comparing yourself to someone who's better off; can be motivating or hurt self-esteem.
What is downward social comparison?
Comparing yourself to someone who's worse off; can boost self-esteem but hinder motivation.
Explain the concept of attribution.
The process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events.
Explain the concept of internal attribution.
Assigning the cause of behavior to internal factors such as personality, abilities, or effort.
Explain the concept of external attribution.
Assigning the cause of behavior to external factors such as the situation, luck, or other people.
Explain the concept of self-serving bias.
The tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external factors to maintain self-esteem.
Explain the concept of fundamental attribution error.
The tendency to overestimate the role of dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior.
Explain the concept of the mere exposure effect.
The phenomenon where repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to increased liking of that stimulus.
Explain the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy.
A belief or expectation that leads to behavior that causes the belief to come true.