PSYCH 1F03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Fundamental Attribution Error, Rush Hour, Simple Explanation
28 Mar 2017
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It is dif cult to accurately attribute intentions to observed actions because for every observed behaviour, there are many possible motivating factors. Denise was walking home following a class when a stranger bumped into her and said in an annoyed voice, hey, watch where you"re going!". Denise was deeply offended and interpreted the interaction as a direct threat making her feel uncomfortable. The indecent was so upsetting that she deiced to stay over at a friend"s place. Let"s begin with the variable of degree of choice. Social psychologists have developed several theories to explain how you decide to attribute the behaviour. For example, imagine you are in a philosophy class that is debating the ethics of the death penalty, and one of your colleagues is arguing strongly in support. If you knew that he and chosen to be on the team that was arguing in support of the issue, you may infer that he truly believed in his message.
