Fundamental Attribution Error And Stereotyping
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both a symptom and source of prejudice. If, for example, a single mother's homelessness is attributed to dispositional factors such as personal laziness, poor ultimate attribution error example character, or lack of ability, prejudice toward single mothers is likely to
Causal Attribution Definition
persist. In contrast, if her homelessness is attributed to situational factors such as job layoffs or domestic ultimate attribution error quizlet partner violence, prejudice toward single mothers may not come into play or may even be reduced. The problem, when it comes to prejudice, is that people often make uncharitable
Duncan 1976 Stereotypes
attributions for the behavior of outgroup members. They do this in at least three ways: Just-World Attributions in an Unjust World In many situations, causal attributions implicitly follow a "just world" ideology that assumes people get what they deserve and deserve what they get (Lerner, 1980; Montada & Lerner, 1998). For example, people who hold just-world beliefs actor observer error are more likely than others to blame poor people for being impoverished and, to some extent, are more likely to blame women for being battered or raped (Cowan & Curtis, 1994; Cozzarelli, Wilkinson, & Tagler, 2001; Schuller, Smith, & Olson, 1994). The difficulty with such attributions is that the world is not always just; people often find themselves in unfair circumstances, whether by birth, happenstance, or other factors beyond their control. In such cases, a just-world ideology downplays the role of situational factors and says, in essence, that the problem of social injustice lies not in society but in the victims of prejudice. The Fundamental Attribution Error In addition to just-world beliefs, people have a more general tendency to attribute behavior to dispositional causes. Even when behaviors are undeniably caused by situational factors, people will sometimes favor dispositional explanations -- a misjudgment known as the "fundamental attribution error" (Ross, 1977). For example, in one of the earliest studies published on this topic, participants were presented with an essay written by so
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Toolbox The Color Line ThickCulture Teaching The Fundamental Attribution Error Nathan on March 14, 2011 The fundamental attribution error adaptive conservatism is so central to learning sociology that it astonishes me that I've never seen it covered in a Soc 101 text*. The fundamental attribution error is the idea that each of http://www.understandingprejudice.org/apa/english/page9.htm us as an individual is biased toward viewing our behaviors within the context of our circumstances. However, when we view the behaviors of others we attribute their behaviors to who they are as a person or to their character. The classic example is speeding. To begin a class discussion on the fundamental attribution error I ask my students to think about the https://thesocietypages.org/sociologysource/2011/03/14/teaching-the-fundamental-attribution-error/ last time they broke the speed limit. Not like 5 miles an hour over, but like really really broke the speed limit. After a moment I ask, "So why were you speeding?" Students describe how they typically don't recklessly speed unless there is some dire need to get somewhere fast. Students talk about being fired if they are late to work one more time, sleeping through an alarm and being late to a final or midterm, or speeding to catch a flight. Many times students start their explanations by saying, "I typically don't speed, but…" When asked why they speed students provide a litany of circumstantial reasons for their "unusual" behavior. I then ask students to think about the last time they were driving and someone blew by them or was weaving through traffic recklessly. After they collect this memory, I ask them how they feel about the speeding driver. "I typically yell, ‘you ___ hole!'" one of my students said this semester. Students go on to describe how they feel the reckless driver is a danger to society and they need to be stoppe
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of people who share some obvious dimension with that individual (gender, race, national origin, language, occupation, sexual orientation ) Stereotype : A belief about the personal attributes of a group of people based on singular experiences or passive adoption of other peoples attitudes. Stereotypes are typically inaccurate over generalizations which are highly resistant to change Stereotypical responses are often so automatic that their existence can be detected by simple response measures like the Implicit Association Task. (Greenwald 1991) Prejudice : an unjustifiable negative attitude toward a group and its individual members based on stereotypes. These negative attitudes stem from emotional associations, negative beliefs, and the need to justify behavior. Prejudice is often reflected in speech.
Discrimination: Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members. Without doubt the two most common forms of discrimination within America are Racism : Both an individuals prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward people based on racial distinctions and institutional practices that discriminate against people of a particular race. Sexism: Both an individuals prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward people of a given sex and institutional practices that discriminate against people of a particular sex. Historically, racism and sexism in America has strongly influenced: Economic and Educational Opportunities Where one could live Whom one could socialize with Voting rights and political expression Although obvious forms of discrimination have decreased over the last fifty years, subtle forms of prejudice and discrimination still exist. Public sentiment and private behavior often conflict. For example, Rogers & Prentice-Dunn (1981) had students in a behavior-modification experiment shock a confederate of the experimenter. The confederate was either Caucasian or African-American, and either acted pleasantly toward the subject or insulted them. The subjects in the experiment were all Caucasians. When the confederate insulted the subject prior to the experiment, they "shocked" African-American confederates at a higher level than Caucasian confederated. When the African-American confederate was not insulting, they were less aggressive toward them than a white confederate. Ayres (1991) : Had males and females visit 90 car dealerships in Chicago and negotiate a price for a new car. The dealers cost was approximately $11,000. Average cost negotiated: Caucasian Males $11,362 + $ 362 Caucasian Females $11,504 + $ 504 African Americ