- Describe situational versus dispositional influences on behavior
- Give examples of the fundamental attribution error and other common biases
- Describe social roles, social norms, and scripts and how they influence behavior
In this module, we explored the fundamental attribution error, a phenomenon particularly seen in individualistic cultures whereby dispositional, or internal, factors for behavior are more heavily emphasized over situational and contextual factors. This cognitive bias can cause people to jump to conclusions, making judgmental or negative conclusions about someone’s character or motivations without considering the whole picture. In short, we tend to make erroneous conclusions that when someone does something bad, that they are bad. This is often unfair to others and can lead us to have inaccurate, and negative, perceptions of the people around us.
Because the fundamental attribution error is often an automatic and unconscious process, we must take special care to bring awareness to these assumptions as well as work to counteract them. Research shows this effect can lead individuals to be less caring and helpful to others as well as reduce empathy. In this activity, you’ll work to challenge your biases and conclusions of recent interactions in your own life.
Dispositional vs. Situational Factors
In the table below, you’ll see descriptions of common situations in which you might observe another person’s negative behavior. Consider each situation, then, make one attribution or cause of the behavior based on disposition or trait of the perpetrator (e.g., “they’re a bad person”). Next, you’ll spend time coming up with two alternate explanations that account for situational or contextual factors (e.g., “they had a bad day”). Notice your feelings about the situation and towards the person both before and after exploring these situational factors. What changed?
| Event/Behavior | Dispositional Factor | Situational Factor #1 | Situational Factor #2 |
| Someone cuts you off in traffic and speeds off. | What a jerk! | They might be on the way to the hospital. | They are probably on their way to the airport to catch a flight. |
| Your waiter is dismissive and short, leaving your drinks empty and frowning when you make requests. |
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| A member of your group project fails to submit their work on time and, when they do, it’s low quality. |
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| You meet a relative’s new partner. They are standoffish, asking few questions of others and spending much time on their phone. |
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| A new professor scores your first assignment very harshly. When you reach out by email, their response seems terse. |
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- What is your reaction to your results? What aspects feel accurate? Which feel less accurate?
- Consider three of your social roles (e.g., student, parent, employee, etc.). How does your personality vary in these different roles? In which role do these results feel most accurate? In which role do they feel least accurate? What might influence these differences?
- Can you think of a recent interaction with another person where you either judged someone else or you felt judged by them? How do you think your or their interpretations might line up with your or their actual personality? What dispositional assumptions do you sometimes make based on situational factors?