Suppose you observe your neighbor running away from a dog who comes into your backyard during a picnic. You've seen him run away from dogs before, and you've seen him run away from all dogs. Also, you don't see anyone else run away from this dog. You would say that he ran away from this dog because ________, which is an example of an ________ attribution.
A) the dog is scary; internal
B) the dog is scary; external
C) he is afraid of dogs; internal
D) he is afraid of dogs; external

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best choice is C because it attributes the behavior to a personal characteristic of the neighbor, namely, that he is afraid of dogs. This is an internal attribution because it is based on a characteristic of the person. Option A is incorrect because it is also externalized but attributes the behavior to the dog being scary, and there is no evidence that the dog is scary. Option B is incorrect because it also externalizes the behavior but attributes it to the dog being scary, and there is no evidence for that. Option D is incorrect because it externalizes the behavior, but it does not account for why the neighbor is afraid of dogs.

Suppose You Observe Your Neighbor Running Away from a Dog