Lecture 32
Social 2
- Fundamental Attribution Error
- Review Heider's Theory
- Definition
- Qualifications
- Attitudes
- Definition
- Three Components
- Attitude Formation
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory
- Main Assumptions
- Representative Research
Overview
When explaining behavior, people tend to assume that dispositional causes are more important than situational ones. This tendency is known as the fundamental attribution error.
Attitudes are evaluative reactions to people, objects, or issues. They are made up of three components that usually fit together in a psychologically balanced way. As a result, attitudes can be formed in a variety of ways.
People do not always act in accordance with their beliefs and feelings, however. According to Leon Festinger, these discrepancies create an aversive motivational state called cognitive dissonance. People resolve dissonance in one of three ways, choosing the easiest option.
Specifics
- Define the fundamental attribution error and identify three qualifications to it.
- Define attitudes and identify three components that comprise them.
- Be familiar with emotional theories of attitude formation, and know two examples.
- Define cognitive dissonance and describe three ways it can be reduced.
- Be familiar with the procedures and findings of Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) study of cognitive dissonance.