MGT 350 Ch 3 Ch 10 Lecture Part II

Summary

This lecture focuses on understanding key psychological concepts like attribution theory, biases, and decision-making. The instructor emphasizes the importance of reading textbooks and actively engaging with the material to grasp definitions and examples. Key topics include the discounting principle, projection bias, and self-fulfilling prophecy, alongside an in-depth look at attribution theory—distinguishing between internal and external attributions. The lecture also highlights common attribution biases, like the fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias. The session concludes with guidelines for submitting handwritten assignments to reinforce these concepts and prepare for exams.

Takeaways

• 😀 Textbook reading is mandatory for this course, and students are expected to read and understand the textbook to succeed.
• 😀 Assignments will help reinforce the concepts learned in class, and examples play a key role in understanding difficult definitions.
• 😀 The discounting principle in social psychology refers to how situational factors influence our judgment of others' behaviors.
• 😀 The concept of projection explains how people overestimate how similar others' thoughts and beliefs are to their own, especially when surrounded by similar people.
• 😀 Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when expectations about a person lead to behaviors that cause the person to confirm those expectations.
• 😀 In decision-making, projection biases can lead to decisions that feel comfortable but are actually flawed because they are based on a narrow perspective.
• 😀 Attribution theory helps explain how people attribute causes to their own or others' behaviors, using internal or external attributions.
• 😀 Internal attributions explain behaviors as stemming from an individual's traits or abilities, while external attributions attribute behaviors to situational factors.
• 😀 There are three key information cues in attribution theory: consensus (how others behave), distinctiveness (how a person behaves in different situations), and consistency (how often the behavior occurs).
• 😀 Fundamental attribution error is when people attribute others' negative behavior to internal factors, but when making errors themselves, they attribute it to external factors.
• 😀 Self-serving bias refers to the tendency to attribute our own successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors, while others' successes are attributed to luck or external factors.

Q & A

Why is it important to read the textbook as mentioned in the lecture?

The textbook contains the answers to assignments and helps in understanding the concepts discussed in the lecture. It is essential for clarifying the definitions and examples of psychological theories, such as attribution theory and biases.

What is the discounting principle in attribution theory?

The discounting principle suggests that people tend to discount or downplay certain attributes of a person’s behavior when the context or situation provides a clear explanation for that behavior. For example, if a salesman behaves kindly, you may attribute it to the situation rather than the salesperson’s personality.

What is projection bias, and how does it affect decision-making?

Projection bias occurs when individuals overestimate how many people share their beliefs and opinions. This can affect decision-making by limiting perspectives, as people tend to assume that others think the same way they do, leading to confirmation bias and poor decisions.

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and how is it illustrated in the classroom example?

A self-fulfilling prophecy is when an individual's belief about another person leads them to behave in ways that encourage that person to act in a manner consistent with the belief. In the classroom example, a teacher who believes their students are intelligent may provide more challenging tasks, ultimately leading to better performance.

What does attribution theory explain about human behavior?

Attribution theory explains how people make sense of the causes of their own or others' behavior. It identifies two main types of attributions: internal (personal traits or actions) and external (situational factors). This helps individuals understand and explain behavior in social contexts.

How does consensus play a role in attribution theory?

Consensus refers to whether others behave in the same way in a given situation. If many people behave similarly, the cause is more likely to be external. If only one person behaves in a certain way, the cause is more likely to be internal.

What is the difference between internal and external attribution?

Internal attribution refers to attributing behavior to personal factors, such as personality or effort, whereas external attribution refers to attributing behavior to situational factors, such as the environment or external influences.

What does distinctiveness mean in attribution theory?

Distinctiveness refers to whether a person behaves differently across different situations. If someone consistently behaves the same way in various situations, the behavior is more likely to be attributed to internal causes. If their behavior is unique to a specific situation, it is attributed to external causes.

How can consistency affect attribution?

Consistency refers to whether a person's behavior is the same over time. If the behavior occurs consistently, it is more likely to be attributed to internal factors. If it happens only in specific situations, it might be attributed to external causes.

What are fundamental attribution errors and self-serving biases, and how do they differ?

Fundamental attribution error occurs when people attribute others' negative behaviors to their personality traits rather than situational factors. Self-serving bias is when people attribute their own successes to internal factors (e.g., effort or skill) and their failures to external factors (e.g., bad luck or others' actions). These biases reflect how we judge others versus ourselves.