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Social Psychology
The study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Attitudes influence actions…
Attribution Theory (Fritz Heider) – people usually attribute others’ behavior to either their internal
dispositions or their external situations.
For each, indicate if the attribution is dispositional (also called internal) or situational (external).
1. They won only because the best athletes on the Central State’s teams were out with injuries – talk
about good fortune. _________________________
2. They won because they have some of the best talent in the country. ________________________
3. Anybody could win this region; the competition is so far below average in comparison to the rest
of the country. _________________________
4. They won because they put in a great deal of effort and practice. _________________________
Our attributions have consequences. The following attribution errors lead to overconfidence.
Fundamental Attribution Error – underestimating situational influences when evaluating the behavior of
someone else.
He swerved into my lane because ___________________________________________________.
Actor – observer bias – attributing others’ behavior to disposition but your own behaviors (even the same
behaviors) to situational factors.
Ex: He swerved into my lane because he is a jerk, but I swerved into the next lane because
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Self-serving bias – crediting your own successes to disposition, but attributing your own failures to
situation.
Ex: I won the game because _______________________________________________________.
I failed the test because ________________________________________________________.
…or actions influence attitudes?
Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory beliefs or
performing an action contradictory to our beliefs.
Cognitive dissonance theory states that we are motivated to reduce this uncomfortable feeling by
changing our attitudes to match our actions. The dissonance (uncomfortable feeling) is less if we feel that
we were forced to perform the action. Thus, the larger the pressure used to elicit the overt behavior, the
smaller the tendency to change our opinion.
Examples of cognitive dissonance:
1. Foot-in-the-door theory – the tendency for people who agree with a small request to comply later
with a larger one (ex: training torturers, cheating, Korean War POWs)
2. Role playing – subjects who play a role often begin to “become” the role (Zimbardo’s prison
experiment)
3. Effort justification – the tendency to find something more attractive if you have to work hard to
achieve it.
So, what can I do to make sure my attitudes guide my actions?
1. Outside influences are minimal (i.e., avoid peer pressure)
2. The attitude is specific to the behavior (i.e., instead of “I wont’ cheat”, think “I won’t copy
someone’s Psych test)
3. We are mindful of our attitudes (i.e., wear a ring or bracelet with a reminder of your beliefs;
promise ring, WWJD)