Every summer, you attend two weeks of summer camp. You look forward to this two weeks all year and are very excited upon your arrival. While at camp, you engage in activities that you don't normally, such as zip lining, fishing, and archery. While at camp, you meet someone from a different part of the country. You do not have many shared interests, but feel very strongly attracted to this person. Which of the following does this exemplify

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario exemplifies the misattribution of arousal, which occurs when we mistakenly attribute our physical arousal (e.g. racing heart, sweaty palms) to feelings of attraction rather than the actual cause (e.g. excitement from zip lining). It is likely that the excitement and novelty of being at summer camp and engaging in new activities might be causing physical arousal, which is then being attributed to the attraction towards the person from a different part of the country.

Every Summer, You Attend Two Weeks of Summer Camp