Social Psychology: Attribution Scale
For each of the following 20 pairs of traits, circle the one trait in each pair that is most characteristic of . If neither of the traits in a trait pair is the most characteristic, indicate that by circling "depends on the situation."
Serious gay depends on the situation
Subjective analytic depends on the situation
Future oriented present oriented depends on the situation
Energetic relaxed depends on the situation
Unassuming self-asserting depends on the situation
Lenient firm depends on the situation
Reserved emotionally expressive depends on the situation
Dignified casual depends on the situation
Realistic idealistic depends on the situation
Intense calm depends on the situation
Skeptical trusting depends on the situation
Quiet talkative depends on the situation
Cultivated natural depends on the situation
Sensitive tough-minded depends on the situation
Self-sufficient sociable depends on the situation
Steady flexible depends on the situation
Dominant deferential depends on the situation
Cautious bold depends on the situation
Uninhibited self-controlled depends on the situation
Conscientious happy-go-lucky depends on the situation
Teacher's directions for attribution scale:
The fundamental attribution error is the tendency of observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of a situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition. You can introduce this error by replicating the findings of Richard Nisbett and his colleagues, who discovered that people often attribute other people's behavior to their dispositions while giving environmental reasons for their own behavior.
Distribute 2 copies of the handout to each student. Have students complete the scale twice, once for a former teacher (or some prominent public figure) and once for themselves. After they have completed both forms, have them count the number of times they circles " depends on the situation" on each rating sheet. A show of hands will demonstrate a greater tendency to attribute the other person's behavior to personal disposition, while attributing their own behavior to the environment. Ask students why this may be the case.
We tend to attribute causation to the focus of our attention, which is different when we are observing than when we are acting. When we act, however, the environment commands our attention and thus seems to explain our behavior. Michael Storms demonstrated that if perspectives can be reversed, attributions also change. In a clever experiment, students were told to talk with each other while television cameras, place next to each, recorded the conversation. In addition, observers sat beside the students. Afterward, each observer and subject was asked to estimate whether the subject's behavior was caused more by personal characteristics or by the situation. As expected, the observer attributed less importance to the situation than did the subject. But what if perspectives were reversed by having each watch the videotape recorded from the other's point of view? Attributions were also now reversed. The observer attributed behavior more to the situation, the subject more to personal characteristics.
Conclude your discussion with the following example of the actor-observer difference in perception. In 1979, rock fans were waiting to get into Riverfront Coliseum for a concert by the Who. When the Coliseum doors were finally opened, people stampeded and several were trampled to death. Time magazine, which had reported the tragedy, later received a letter from an outside observer and one from an actor participant. To whom does each attribute the cause?
The observer:
The violently destructive message that The Who and other rock groups deliver leaves me little surprised that they attract a mob that will trample human beings to death to gain better seats. Of greater concern is a respected news magazine's adulation of this sick phenomenon.
The actor:
While standing in the crowd at Riverfront Coliseum, I distinctly remember feeling that I was being punished for being a rock fan. My sister and I joked about this, unaware of the horror happening around us. Later, those jokes came back to us grimly as we watched the news. How many lives will be lost before the punitive and inhuman policy of festival seating at rock concerts is outlawed?