AP Psychology · Lesson 1

Attribution and attitudes

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Attribution is how we explain behavior. A dispositional attribution credits a person's traits; a situational attribution credits the circumstances. The fundamental attribution error is giving too much weight to traits and too little to the situation when we judge other people. In the actor-observer bias, we explain our own actions by the situation but other people's by their traits. The self-serving bias takes credit for success and blames outside causes for failure. The just-world hypothesis is the belief that people get what they deserve, which can lead us to blame victims. People in more collectivist cultures tend to make the fundamental attribution error less often than people in more individualist ones.

Expectations shape how we see and treat others. A self-fulfilling prophecy happens when an expectation changes our behavior in a way that makes the expectation come true. The mere exposure effect is coming to like something more after seeing it again and again. A stereotype is a generalized belief about a group, prejudice is an unjustified negative attitude toward its members, and discrimination is unfair behavior toward them. In-group bias is favoring one's own group.

An attitude is a set of beliefs and feelings that leans us toward responding a certain way. Attitudes guide actions, and actions also change attitudes. Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort of acting against a belief or holding two clashing beliefs; people often ease it by changing the belief to fit what they did. In the foot-in-the-door technique, agreeing to a small request makes a person more likely to agree to a larger one. In the door-in-the-face technique, a large request is refused first, and a smaller one that follows seems more reasonable.

The elaboration likelihood model describes two routes to persuasion. The central route works through careful thought about the arguments and is used when people are motivated and able to think about the message. The peripheral route works through surface cues such as a speaker's fame or looks and is used when they are not. Attitude change through the central route tends to last longer.

Trap Dissonance lives inside one person

Cognitive dissonance is not simply disagreeing with someone else. It is tension inside one person whose own actions and beliefs clash. Look for a person who did something that conflicts with what they believe and then shifted the belief to match the action.

Worked example Easy

After failing her first driving test, Priya says the examiner was harsh and the roads were icy. When she passes on her second try, she says it is because she is a skilled driver. Which concept does this show?

  1. Fundamental attribution error
  2. Self-serving biasAnswer
  3. Just-world hypothesis
  4. Mere exposure effect

How to solve it

  1. Notice whose behavior is being explained: Priya's own.
  2. Failure is blamed on the situation and success is credited to herself, so this is the self-serving bias.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. The fundamental attribution error is about judging other people's behavior, but Priya is explaining her own results.
  • B. Correct. Priya blames outside causes for her failure and credits her own skill for her success, which is the self-serving bias.
  • C. Incorrect. The just-world hypothesis is the belief that people get what they deserve, and Priya says nothing about fairness or deserving.
  • D. Incorrect. The mere exposure effect is liking something more after repeated contact, which has nothing to do with how Priya explains her results.

Explain Explain it

Task verbs: identify, explain

To explain an attribution, first say which kind it is, trait or situation. Then point to the words in the scenario that show it, and name the detail the person overlooked. For attitudes, say what the person did, what they believed, and how one changed to fit the other.

Worked example Medium

Marcus privately dislikes a new school rule, but with no reward or pressure he agrees to give a short speech praising it at an assembly. A week later he tells friends the rule is actually fairly sensible. Which concept best explains his change of opinion?

  1. Peripheral route persuasion
  2. Door-in-the-face technique
  3. Cognitive dissonanceAnswer
  4. In-group bias

How to solve it

  1. Find the clash: Marcus said something he did not believe, and he had no reward to explain why.
  2. He then changed the belief to fit the action, which is how cognitive dissonance is reduced.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. Peripheral route persuasion relies on surface cues from a speaker, but no outside speaker persuaded Marcus.
  • B. Incorrect. The door-in-the-face technique starts with a large request that is refused, and Marcus was never asked for anything he refused.
  • C. Correct. Praising a rule he disliked, with no reward to justify it, created tension that Marcus eased by changing his opinion to match his speech.
  • D. Incorrect. In-group bias is favoring one's own group over others, and the scenario involves no comparison between groups.

Explain Your turn

On his first day at a new school, Tomas slips on the stairs. A classmate, Ines, decides he must be clumsy and careless, without noticing that the stairs were wet from a leaking pipe. Explain how the fundamental attribution error shows in Ines's judgment, and name the situational cause she overlooked.

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Compare with a model answer

A full answer does this

  • Says Ines explains the fall by Tomas's traits
  • Names the wet stairs as the situational cause she overlooked

Model answer

Ines shows the fundamental attribution error because she explains Tomas's fall by his traits, deciding he is clumsy and careless. She overlooks the situational cause: the stairs were wet from a leaking pipe, which could make anyone slip.

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