Social Perception and Attribution - Attribution theory - Correspondent inference theory

3 important questions on Social Perception and Attribution - Attribution theory - Correspondent inference theory

What does the correspondent inference theory say about how observers work out the causes for observed intentional behavior?

Observers compare the effects of the chosen action with the effects of the possible not-chosen actions, taking into account their perceived desirability, and inferring intentions and dispositions that correspond to the observed intentional behavior

What 2 things does an observer do in the process of analysis of non-common effects to work out the causes for an actor's choice/action?

  1. Identifying the distinctive outcomes of all possible actions that the actor could have chosen by their non-common features
  2. Comparing the distinctive outcomes to infer what non-common feature determined the intention/disposition and thus the cause for the observed behavior

EX: observer wonders why the actor chose university A over B, identifies what they do and do not have in common (non-common features: A is in a city, B has good reputation), infers the reasoning behind the intention (cause of) is that the special features in A are more important to the actor than in B

What is a correspondence bias when a person is working out the cause of a behavior, according to the correspondent inference theory where the observers infers dispositions/intentions to correspond with observed behavior?

Observers have a tendency to wrongfully infer a personal disposition/intention to correspond to the behavior, though the behavior is determined by the situation

EX: people still infer that the writer of a pro-fascist piece is pro-fascist, even when they know that the writer was told to take that stance in the piece

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