You are trying to get to class on time but your alarm clock does not go off (pow

Question

You are trying to get to class on time but your alarm clock does not go off (power outage), so you have to skip your shower to make up the time. Then there is a detour in the highway, and you can’t find a parking space. As you run into class ten minutes late (for your third time), your teacher explains that you cannot take the in-class quiz as you are too late. Later in the hallway you overhear her say to another teacher, “Students today are so irresponsible—they don’t even try to get to class on time”. What social psychology concept accounts for this teacher’s perception of her students’ behaviors? Define the concept and give one more example of it from your personal life.

Explanation / Answer

The social psychology concept that accounts for this teacher's perception of her student's behavior is Attribution Theory.

This theory defines how we make sense of the world around us with our own cause and effect reasoning. We create our own explanation for others behavior on the basis of our observation and perception of the context.

An example from our life would be when we see somebody speeding on the road we assume that they are speeding to have fun and we attribute them to be irresponsible. In actuality they may be speeding to reach their home where their child may require an immediate help because the child may have locked herself and needs an immediate attention, or may have injured herself. Thus, it could be any emergency, but we generalize them to be irresponsible because most people speed on road for their fun.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse Y
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.