Topic summary
What this topic is about
The Unit 4 review explains how people make judgments about why others behave as they do. Tim focuses on attribution errors and biases that can cause us to overlook situational information or interpret people through assumptions. He also names explanatory styles and locus of control as ways to describe beliefs about why events happen and whether outcomes are under a person's control.
Key ideas
- Attribution is how people explain the behavior of themselves and others.
- The video discusses explanatory style and how expectations about whether outcomes can change may affect motivation.
- The fundamental attribution error emphasizes a person's disposition while underweighting the situation.
- The actor-observer bias describes explaining our actions by circumstances but others' actions by the person.
- Locus of control and self-serving explanations are also discussed.
Common confusion
The actor-observer bias compares explanations for our own behavior with explanations for others'; the fundamental attribution error focuses on explanations of other people.
Review connection
Review this in the Unit 4 Review video, then try the Topic 4.1 Practice Quiz.
Reviewed by Tim Steadman