PSYC 1000U Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Cognitive Dissonance, Fundamental Attribution Error, Social Influence
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The s(cid:272)ie(cid:374)tifi(cid:272) stud(cid:455) of the (cid:449)a(cid:455) i(cid:374) (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h people(cid:859)s thoughts, feeli(cid:374)gs, a(cid:374)d (cid:271)eha(cid:448)iour are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people. We tend to think that only others are vulnerable to social influence. You are a manager in a restaurant who is waiting for a prospective employee to come in for an interview. The scheduled time for the interview, 10:00am, was 15 minutes ago, and the prospect has not called. The applicant arrives after another 15 minutes have passed. His hair is uncombed, and he looks as if he has(cid:374)(cid:859)t sha(cid:448)ed i(cid:374) a (cid:272)ouple of da(cid:455)s. He is wearing an unbuttoned shirt, grease-stained jeans, and flip flops. Halfway through the interview, he asks for coffee and lights a cigarette. Attribution: an explanation for the cause of behaviour or events. Inferring that a particular behaviour was due to dispositional causes: external attribution. I(cid:374)ferri(cid:374)g that the i(cid:374)di(cid:448)idual(cid:859)s behaviour was caused by some other factor.
