Situational & Dispositional Factors

Sociocultural cognition•

• IB Syllabus Says: Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior.

Principles Demonstrated:• Human beings are social animals and we want connectedness with, and

a sense of belonging to others• The social and cultural environment influences the individuals behavior • Humans are social animals and we construct our conceptions of the

individual and social self

Attributions………• Imagine you are sitting in a restaurant, waiting for

your date to show up. He or she is late.

• Most people would look for explanations of why he or she has not arrived yet….. What would these be?......

• Make a comprehensive list of reasons why……in a realistic way!

Attribution Theory

Attribution Theory• Social Cognition: how we think and understand social situations

• Definition: Attribution: How people interpret and explain causal relationships in the world. The process of deciding what caused behavior

• Heider (1958) was one of the first people to study attribution theory. He concluded that when people are trying to understand behavior, they are acting like naive psychologists.

• We don’t simply passively observe our own and others actions, but actively seek to explain them. From observing peoples actions people make inferences about intentions and responsibility

Situational & Dispositional Factors• People tend to make an attribution about behavior depending on

whether they are performing it themselves or observing somebody else doing it. This is known as the actor-observer effect.

• When people discuss their own behavior they tend to attribute it to situational factors – that is, something to do with external factors – The social situation/ circumstances they were experiencing were responsible, the cause seems to be due to some external influence – i.e. environmental factors, other people, chance

• When people observe someone else's behavior, they are more likely to attribute it to with dispositional factors – that is, something to do with personal (internal factors) The person performing the actions was responsible - The causes of the action are due to some aspect of the individual - i.e. their personality, ability, mood

Attributions in the restaurant…1. Look at the list of reasons you made earlier

2. Put a “D” next to the reason if it is dispositional and put a “S” next to the reason if it is situational

3. Which one do you have more of? Any cross cultural differences?

4. Review: Using a real life example explain the difference between situational and dispositional attributions

Attribution Zimbardo’s et al. (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)

• This is a classic study which is still relevant today.

• In 2004 U.S. Military personnel committed numerous abuses against prisoner held and the Abu Ghraib.

• How could the prison guards act in such a way even when they say they would never do anything to harm another person.

• He argues that ‘belonging needs’ (A key principle of the LOA) of the guards quickly turns into conformity to the ‘social norm’ of the group they were in

• In his book The Lucifer Effect (2007) Zimbardo revisits the SPE in to examine the power of the situation.

• Zimbardo believes that most people underestimate the influence of the situational factors on behavior.

• There is a tendency for western (individualist) (Eastern –collectivist- situational more important) societies to attribute behavior to dispositional factors, and in everyday life it appears as if unacceptable behavior must come from something inside the person.

• Zimbardo believes that people have a ‘good/evil’ dichotomy which emphasizes fixed dispositional factors in explaining behavior

• Rather than viewing our personal attributes as fixed, Zimbardo believes that it is more realistic to think of our attributes in degrees, such as the degree of evil or honest the we show in different situations

• According to Zimbardo (2007) “people and situations are usually in a state of dynamic tension. Although you probably think of yourself as having a consistent personality across time and space that is likely not be true”

Attribution Zimbardo’s et al (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)

Activity: • Read about the SPE and complete the key study sheet on the

topic

• Pay particular attention to the Essential Question: What does the study tell us about the role of situational and dispositional factors? (make reference to the results from the Comrey Personality Scales and Mood Adjective Self-Report)

• We will then discuss this as a class

Attribution Zimbardo’s (1971) Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)

SAQ:

• (Define/Describe/Explain/Outline/State/Analyze/ Distinguish between) the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior.

Sociocultural cognition3 SAQs (Major)

3 SAQs• As the major assignment for this section on sociocultural

cognition, you will complete 3 SAQs on Monday and Tuesday next week

• 2 SAQs in Mondays class and 1 in Tuesdays class (because they are short lessons)

• 20 minutes per SAQ, but some of these will include the evaluation command terms (usually in the LAQ) however, they should all be the length of SAQs

• Activity: You should work together in groups or on your own to prepare model answers to all these questions, so that you can review for the Major Assessment next week

Possible exam questions( 3 from these):

•(Explain/ Describe/ Outline/ Analyze/distinguish between) the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour.

• (Discuss/ Examine/ Evaluate/Compare/Contrast/Compare & contrast) two errors in attributions.

• (Discuss/ Examine/ Evaluate) social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.

• (Explain/ Describe/ Outline/ Analyze) the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour.

Textbook pages: 101 to 110

Command terms:

Require Evaluation-usually LAQ

SAQ commandterms

Links to resources: • (Explain/ Describe/ Outline/ Analyze/distinguish between) the role of situational and

dispositional factors in explaining behaviour. http://ibpsychology.wetpaint.com/page/Attribution+Theory%3A+Situational+%26+Dispositional+Factors

• (Discuss/ Examine/ Evaluate/Compare/Contrast/Compare & contrast) two errors in attributions.

• http://ibpsychology.wetpaint.com/page/Errors+in+Attribution

• (Discuss/ Examine/ Evaluate) social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.• http://ibpsychology.wetpaint.com/page/Social+Identity+Theory

• (Explain/ Describe/ Outline/ Analyze) the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour.

• http://ibpsychology.wetpaint.com/page/Stereotypes

Textbook pages: 101 to 110

Rubric for regular SAQ command terms (Explain/ Describe/ Outline/ Analyze/Distinguish)

Rubric for command terms requiring evaluation (Discuss/ Examine/ Evaluate/Compare/Contrast/Compare & contrast)

Four marks will also be awarded for overall organization of the three essays

Total Marks: 8+8+8+4= 28

Possible exam questions( 3 from these):

•(Explain/ Describe/ Outline/ Analyze/distinguish between) the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour.

Definition/ Explanation & use Zimbardo as example to demonstrate• (Discuss/ Examine/ Evaluate/Compare/Contrast/Compare & contrast)

two errors in attributions.SSB & Research & FAE & Research (importance of culture)• (Discuss/ Examine/ Evaluate) social identity theory, making reference

to relevant studies.SIT & evaluation of supporting research & theory itself• (Explain/ Describe/ Outline/ Analyze) the formation of stereotypes

and their effect on behaviour.Formation of stereotypes research & effect on behaviour research

Textbook pages: 101 to 110

SAQ 1 feedbackOutline/ Explain the role of situational and dispositional factors in

explaining behavior.• Connect to the concept of ‘attribution’ when explaining situational

and dispositional factors• Keep the definition short and to the point• Present the SPE and use it to explain the importance of situational

factors• The SPE demonstrates the role of the situation, rather than

dispositions in determining behavior! – but the comery scales offer some interesting findings

• Dispositional factors – Lau & Russell, even Bowlby’s work on social releasers was used effectively here

• Don’t confuse the terms situational and dispositional • Don’t forget paragraphs – and referring back to the question – if your

present a study for example – what relevance does this have to the question – make sure this is clear in your answer

• ANSWER THE QUESTION!

SAQ 2 feedback

Compare & contrast two errors in attributions.• FAE & SSB – get the definitions right• Make sure you clearly address the command term

and answer the question• Use the language of comparing and contrasting, ‘in

comparison, however, on the other hand, similar to, different from…’

• Get the details of the studies right! Don’t make things up

• Similarities (compare) & Differences (contrast) – you must refer to these in your answer!

SAQ 2 feedback -play

Discuss two errors in attributions.• FAE & SSB – get the definitions right• Discuss – requires some evaluation• Get the details of the studies right! Don’t

make things up• Use culture in evaluation

SAQ 3 feedback

1. Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.

• Use several studies!• The command term says evaluate so you

must do that! – strengths and limitations of the theory

• Zimbardo can also be used here…

2 SAQs…..1. Outline the role of situational and

dispositional factors in explaining behavior.

2. Compare and contrast two errors in attributions.

1 SAQ….• Evaluate social identity theory, making

reference to relevant studies.

1 SAQ….• Evaluate social identity theory, making

reference to relevant studies.

3 SAQs

1. •Explain the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour.

2. • Discuss two errors in attributions.

3. • Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.

3 SAQs

1. •Explain the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour.

2. • Discuss two errors in attributions.

3. • Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.