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implications of self-selection for the adaptiveness of the fundamental attribution error

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Date Issued:
1993
Summary:
The fundamental attribution error (FAE) refers to the social perceiver's tendency to emphasize dispositional rather than situational information when determining the causes for an actor's behavior (Ross, 1977). The present study challenges previous FAE research by suggesting that highly constrained experimental circumstances, not representative of real-world occurrences in which self-selection variables play a major role, are perhaps responsible for these findings. Subjects were given behavioral information and asked to make attributions based on a target's level of agreeableness and predict their intentions concerning future interactions. The data indicates that limited information can still lead to accurate identification of true scores. Attributions for behaviors that were exhibited under both low and high situational constraint were useful in detecting a target's underlying trait. They also form a foundation for guiding future interactions. Together, these findings support the notion that the FAE serves as an adaptive and appropriate strategy.
Title: The implications of self-selection for the adaptiveness of the fundamental attribution error.
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Name(s): Wilson, Lili Milian
Florida Atlantic University, Degree Grantor
Monson, Thomas C., Thesis Advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1993
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 149 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The fundamental attribution error (FAE) refers to the social perceiver's tendency to emphasize dispositional rather than situational information when determining the causes for an actor's behavior (Ross, 1977). The present study challenges previous FAE research by suggesting that highly constrained experimental circumstances, not representative of real-world occurrences in which self-selection variables play a major role, are perhaps responsible for these findings. Subjects were given behavioral information and asked to make attributions based on a target's level of agreeableness and predict their intentions concerning future interactions. The data indicates that limited information can still lead to accurate identification of true scores. Attributions for behaviors that were exhibited under both low and high situational constraint were useful in detecting a target's underlying trait. They also form a foundation for guiding future interactions. Together, these findings support the notion that the FAE serves as an adaptive and appropriate strategy.
Identifier: 14927 (digitool), FADT14927 (IID), fau:11709 (fedora)
Note(s): Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1993.
Subject(s): Attribution (Social psychology)
Personality assessment
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14927
Sublocation: Digital Library
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.