Exam 10: Cognitive Motivation: Attribution Approaches

In attribution theory, the tendency to infer dispositional attributions of other's behavior but situational attributions of our own behavior is called the:

A man robbed a liquor store. If we say he did it because he is a bad person or a criminal type person, we are making a _____ attribution.

In achievement attribution studies, Diener and Dweck (1978) suggest that individuals with a _____ orientation set challenging goals, and individuals with a _____ orientation avoid challenging goals.

Fixed traits are to _____ theorists as malleable traits are to _____ theorists.

Seligman suggests that helplessness that is perceived as the result of _____ factors will greatly extend the time course of the helplessness.

Task difficulty may be judged primarily by:

Dweck (1986) suggested that helpless individuals seek _____ goals and mastery-oriented individuals seek _____ goals.

According to reformulated learned helplessness theory, if we believe we lack characteristics possessed by others that allow them to control their situations, this _____ of personal helplessness will lead to lower self-esteem.

In attribution, the tendency to believe that most other people think and act the same way that we do is called the:

In Kelley's attribution theory, _____ is the degree to which the behavior is unique, and _____ is the frequency with which the actor engages in the specific behavior.

In Weiner's attribution theory, achievement-related results initially produce the _____ effect, in which the outcome itself triggers happiness or sadness, depending on success or failure.

Which of the following is NOT one of Weiner's causal dimensions?

Sabini and colleagues (2001) suggest the reason for fundamental attribution error is a tendency to underestimate the power of motives (such as motive to 'save face') called:

Which of the following terms is associated with situational influences rather than dispositional influences?

Heider developed a _____ psychology to investigate how the average person decides on the causes of behavior.

Weiner argued that inferences we make about our abilities result primarily from:

People tend to attribute behavior to consistent personality characteristics, or _____, or to the social _____ of the persons involved.

Heider stated that a person could attribute behaviors to forces within an individual, called _____, or to forces external to an individual, called _____.

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in attribution suggested by Gilbert and Malone (1995)?

The student next to you does well on a test. You might attribute it to the person being smart. This would be: