Question 1

"He does it everywhere,he does it all the time,and no one else does it." Which cue combination is the speaker invoking?

Accepted Answer

The statement suggests that the person being described is exhibiting a behavior that is not common among others (low consensus), but is consistent across different situations (high consistency) and unique to that person (low distinctiveness).

Question 2

The self-serving bias

Accepted Answer

The answer of The self-serving bias
...

Question 3

On a construction site,Ray drops a wrench and it almost hits Cecil on the head.If Cecil develops a situational (as opposed to dispositional)explanation of Ray's behaviour he might assume that

Accepted Answer

A situational explanation assumes that the behavior was due to external factors, in this case, the wrench being oily and slipping out of Ray's hands. It does not assume intent or personality traits of the person, such as being stupid or careless.

Question 4

The actor-observer effect suggests that

Accepted Answer

The actor-observer effect suggests that actors and observers tend to view the actor's behaviour in different ways. Actors tend to make situational attributions for their behaviour while observers tend to make dispositional attributions about the actor's behaviour. This effect highlights the difference in perspective between those who are directly involved in a situation and those who are merely observing it.

Question 5

Other things equal,high consensus behaviour on the part of an employee will lead a manager to make a dispositional attribution about the behaviour.

Accepted Answer

High consensus behavior suggests that most people in the same situation would behave similarly, leading a manager to make a situational attribution rather than a dispositional one.

Question 6

"He does it everywhere,he does it all the time,and no one else does it." Which attribution is the speaker likely to make?

Accepted Answer

The speaker is indicating that this behavior is consistent across different situations and times, and not exhibited by anyone else, suggesting a dispositional attribution.

Question 7

"Karen acts differently from everyone else,but Byron acts the same as everyone else." The speaker here is invoking a ________ cue to describe Karen's behaviour and a ________ cue to describe Byron's behaviour.

Accepted Answer

The answer of "Karen acts differently from everyone else,but Byron...

Question 8

Bob resigns from a job that most of his friends consider to be a very good job.Which of the following is a dispositional attribution of the reason for Bob's resignation?

Accepted Answer

A dispositional attribution involves assigning the cause of behavior to the individual's internal characteristics or traits. Option B suggests that Bob's reason for resignation stems from his lack of responsibility or inability to recognize a good job, which is an internal characteristic. Options A, C, D, and E suggest external factors as the cause of Bob's resignation.

Question 9

The tendency for actors to attribute their behaviour to situational factors can be overcome by

Accepted Answer

The answer of The tendency for actors to attribute their...

Question 10

The fact that people will explain the very same behaviour differently on the basis of events that happened after the behaviour occurred is suggested by

Accepted Answer

The answer of The fact that people will explain the...

Question 11

Orli is absent a lot,her co-workers are also absent a lot,but she was almost never absent in her previous job.What kind of attribution is her manager likely to make?

Accepted Answer

Her manager is likely to make a situational attribution, assuming that there are factors in the current job that are causing Orli and her co-workers to be absent more frequently than in their previous jobs.

Question 12

Samantha engages in a low consensus behaviour.What other combination of cues will ensure that an observer makes a dispositional attribution about the behaviour?

Accepted Answer

According to the attribution theory, people tend to make dispositional attributions about a behaviour when it is low in consensus, high in consistency, and low in distinctiveness. However, if the behaviour is also low in distinctiveness, the observer may not make a dispositional attribution. Therefore, in order to ensure that the observer makes a dispositional attribution about Samantha's low consensus behaviour, the behaviour should also be high in consistency but low in distinctiveness. Option B fits this criteria as the behaviour is low in consensus, low in distinctiveness, and high in consistency.

Question 13

A reporter covering a price fixing trial felt that the alleged price fixer was a crook.The alleged price fixer testified that his boss pressured him to engage in illegal activities.The alleged price fixer felt that the reporter's stories about the trial were the product of a vindictive and nasty mind.The price fixer explained his own behaviour ________ and that of the reporter ________.

Accepted Answer

The alleged price fixer is suggesting that his own behavior was situationally driven due to pressure from his boss, while the reporter's behavior (producing negative stories) was dispositionally driven due to a vindictive personality. Therefore, the best choice is C, which aligns with the price fixer's explanations.

Question 14

Which is a potential example of the fundamental attribution error?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which is a potential example of the...

Question 15

Rita inaccurately attributed Tommy's failure to show up at work to car problems.This is a potential example of the fundamental attribution error.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Rita inaccurately attributed Tommy's failure to show...

Question 16

Wes inaccurately attributed Nina's failure to show up at work to her poor work ethic.This is a potential example of the fundamental attribution error.

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to over-emphasize dispositional (internal) explanations for someone else's behavior, rather than considering situational factors. In this case, Wes is attributing Nina's failure to show up to her work ethic (a dispositional/internal factor) without considering any potential situational factors (such as illness or car trouble).

Question 17

Taylor is seldom absent,her co-workers are seldom absent,and she was seldom absent in her previous job.What kind of attribution is her manager likely to make?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Taylor is seldom absent,her co-workers are seldom...

Question 18

After writing an exam,Yani told everybody that he did not study very hard and spent the weekend partying and playing video games.However,when the exam grades were posted the following week,Yani told everybody that he never studied so hard for an exam in his life and he described himself as brilliant.What is this an example of?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the self-serving bias, where individuals attribute their own successes to internal factors such as their abilities or effort, but attribute their failures to external factors such as luck or a difficult exam. Yani initially downplayed his effort and attributed his potential failure to partying, but once he received a good grade, he attributed it to his brilliance and hard work.

Question 19

Gloria is absent a lot,her co-workers are seldom absent,and she was absent a lot in her previous job.What kind of attribution is her manager likely to make?

Accepted Answer

The manager is likely to make a dispositional attribution, assuming that Gloria's frequent absences are due to her personal characteristics (such as laziness or lack of commitment), rather than external factors (such as illness or family issues). The fact that Gloria was also absent frequently in her previous job reinforces this dispositional attribution.

Question 20

After writing an exam,Yani told everybody that he studied really hard and spent a great deal of time preparing for the exam.However,when the exam grades were posted the following week,Yani did not talk about how he studied but instead told everybody that the exam was not fair and was poorly graded.What is this an example of?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the self-serving bias, where Yani is taking credit for his successes (if he got a good grade, he attributed it to his hard work) but blaming external factors for his failures (if he got a bad grade, he blamed the exam and the grading).

Quiz 3: Perception, Attribution, and Diversity