Attributions for Social Behavior
A major theme in social cognition research is the idea that perceivers tend to focus on dispositional explanations for others’ behavior, even when there are obvious situational factors that could explain the behavior very well.
In this this paper your task is to present a case study of this correspondence bias.
You are to present an example of a situation in which social perceivers jumped to dispositional conclusions when there were compelling situational explanations for behavior. Your example could be based upon your own life experiences or be drawn from friends and relatives or from public (“news”) events. In describing the episode in question, be sure to touch upon each of the following issues:
*Using psychological theory, explain the probable reasons why this attribution pattern occurred.
*Explore the possible consequences of viewing the selected behavior as dispositionaly caused rather than situationally caused. Why is this bias important? How might it affect social outcomes in the real world?
*Comment on possible ways of avoiding or minimizing this bias in situations like the one that you examined.
