UNIT 5: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

ATTRIBUTION & ATTITUDES

Our inner critics almost never go quiet. As we go through the day, we make decisions about whether we like or
dislike things & whether we like or dislike what we & other people have done. We also make judgements about
whether something was a person’s fault or if it was just bad luck. For instance, if someone bumps into us in the
hallway, we can let it go as something that everyone does sometimes, or we can get mad & blame the person for
being carless.

WHOSE FAULT IS IT?

Everyday, we see ourselves & other people do things, & we pass judgment on them. We may make a joke at lunch
& think, “That was funny,” or “How embarrassing, nobody laughed.” We hear others make jokes & think the same
about them.

We base our judgments on whether we think what someone did is because of the person or because of the
person’s situation. We may see another person make a mistake & think, “I would have made the same mistake,” or
we may think, “I never would have made that mistake.”

“There, but by the grace of God, goes John Bradford.”

—John Bradford, when he saw a fellow prisoner go to be executed.

In 1550 England, John Bradford had it all. He was born into a family that had enough money to send him to good
schools. He was ordained as a priest by the Church of England, & he was highly respected by all who knew him.
Then, Mary Tudor became England’s new ruler, & she didn’t like the Church of England. Bradford’s fortunes
suddenly changed, & he was but into prison.

Even in prison, Bradford continued to do his pastoral work. He is an example of someone who is suddenly put into
bad circumstances through no fault of his own. His “by the grace of God” quote is often changed slightly & used as
a statement of compassion for those who have fallen on hard times: “There, but by the grace of God, go I.”

SOCIAL COGNITION

THINKING SOCIALLY

“I’m a good student in math, but not in history.”

“I aced that math test. I’m really good at math.”

“I can’t believe Rodd flunked that easy test. He’s really lazy.”

The statements above are examples of social cognition. The study of social cognition looks at how people notice,
remember, & make judgments & decisions. Recall that in cognitive psychology, a schema is a set of ideas that are
related. In social cognition, there are schemas about ourselves, our roles, other people, & other situations.
SELF-SCHEMAS

THOUGHTS ABOUT OURSELVES

Self-schemas are made up of all the information we have gathered since childhood about who we are. Three
important components of a self-schema are self-concept, self-esteem, & self-efficacy. Self-concept is what we
know about ourselves; self-esteem is how we fell about ourselves; & self-efficacy is how we believe we are able to
do certain tasks.

In addition, we know the roles we play—who we are in relation to others, our ascribed characteristics such as age
& gender, & finally our interests & activities. Knowing how we see ourselves in relation to each of these can
motivate us to control our behavior—both to resist temptation & improve ourselves.

ATTRIBUTION

WHY PEOPLE DO WHAT THEY DO

Why do we do the things we do? Why do other people do the things they do? These questions are a matter of
attribution.

In attribution theory, there are 2 main reasons why people do what they do: their situations or their selves. These
2 main reasons are known as dispositional attribution & situational attribution.

CONSENSUS, CONSISTENCY, DISTINCTIVENESS

ATTRIBUTION & ATTITUDES

How do people decide whether to make a dispositional attribution or a situational attribution? When making a
judgment about why people do what they do, we look for three types of information: consensus, consistency, &
distinctiveness.

PERSONAL & SITUATIONAL

WAS IT THE PERSON OR THE SITUATION?

A combination of unique ness & consistency will make people more likely to make a dispositional attribution.
When there is no uniqueness or consistency, we may make a situation attribution.

FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR

WHEN IT IS UNFAIR TO BLAME

When judging the actions of other people, we often attribute them to the person’s disposition instead of the
situation. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency for people to underestimate situational influences &
overestimate dispositional influences when judging other people’s behavior. We blame people unfairly for
something that was brought on their circumstances.

Consider this example. In 1978, followers of the cult leader Jim Jones moved away from their homes & families to
Jonestown, Guyana, where they were under the powerful influence of their charismatic leader. Jones called for a
mass suicide when an American congressman came to investigate the cult. More that 900 people died in this
incident, nearly everyone who was there. We would make the fundamental attribution error if we judged these
people as simple-minded or mentally disturbed. Unfortunately, it was the power of the situation the people found
themselves in—& not their person attributes—that cause the tragedy.

THE SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY

WHEN YOUR EXPECTATIONS SHAPE THE SITUATION

Another miscalculation is the self-fulfilling prophecy, or the tendency for your expectations about another person
to evoke behavior in that person that confirms your expectations.