Examine the roots, theories, and relevance of major trends in modern psychology
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One of peers post:
Attribution Theory and Biases that Simplify
Attribution theory is a way people explains the reasons for the way things occur. As Walker et al. (2022) point out, research has shown we tend to assume someones character solely based on how they behave versus looking at the situation they are in when examining the outcome. We have proven this bias in research repeatedly when considering an outcome.
As Richardson and Garner (2019) found in their research, attribution theory also could be linked to sympathy and how when people link personal responsibility to an issue, such as weight, and feel that someone should have control over it and they do not, they feel less sympathy for them. This is again, yet another example of how important it is to study attribution theory as the biases inherent in our thinking are often incorrect and based in assumptions and inaccurate ways of thinking and relating to a situation or person. I wonder as to why biases occur in this way. Are we brought up to believe in these biases in Western societies? Are other societies such as those in the East less likely to attribute character based solely on how they behave? I have seen so many TV shows where the responsibility is linked to will-power and other things such as socioeconomic status are ignored. While we should be responsible for actions, we need to look at a full picture of someone before making decisions. Without doing so, we risk further feeding into a system full of bias and problems. I just feel it is full of problems already and we need a lot of introspection. I feel it starts with us. Ideally, it would start with systems and the courts and the way people are treated as a whole, but especially with the isolation we have experienced through the pandemic, we need to become more aware again of how we treat other people.
References
Richardson, B. K., & Garner, J. (2019). Stakeholders attributions of whistleblowers: The effects of complicity and motives on perceptions of likeability, credibility, and legitimacy. International Journal of Business Communication, 59(3), 334354. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488419863096Links to an external site.
Walker, D., Smith, K. A., & Vul, E. (2022). Reconsidering the bias in the correspondence bias. Decision, 9(3), 263284. https://doi.org/10.1037/dec0000180
