1. Situational and Dispositional Factors
4.3 Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior

2. Psychologist differ in how important each factors is
Tim’s Story…
Answer
The type of person they are
The type of situation
Causes of behavior
Dispositional factors (type of person)
Situational factors (type of situation)
Psychologist differ in how important each factors is

3. Dispositional Factors
Attributes behavior to a person’s internal characteristics
Refers to a person’s
Beliefs
Attitudes
Personality

4. Situational Factors Attribute behavior to external factors Examples
Immediate rewards or punishments
Social pressure
Social setting

5. Which one attributes more to our behavior?
Personality researchers
Dispositional factors
Social psychologists
Situational factors
Take a personality test
ISBN
Chapter 4, Weblink 4.1

6. Attribution Theory Heider, 1958
Assumption: people are naïve scientists
Look for causes and reasons behind other people’s behavior
Why? Because there are reasons behind our own behavior
We are “intuitive psychologists”
Construct causal theories
Understand, predict and control the environment

7. Why do people do it…? Need causal explanations
Makes the world predictable
Cultures have constructed causal explanations
Myths, religions
Tendency to see motives and dispositions may be automatic
Apply it where it doesn’t apply
Example
Computer games, electronics, witchcraft, fate

9. Empirical Research Simmel, 1944 Experiment
Participants viewed moving, geometric shapes
Asked to describe them
Results: described figures as if the figures had intentions to act in the way they did
Implications: dispositional attribution
Attributing behavior to an object

10. Empirical Research Evans-Pritchard, 1976 Case study: cultural
Participants: Azande people (central Africa)
Procedure
Natural event: granary doorway collapsed
Participants explained why
Results:
People said it was witchcraft and fate
Even when shown evidence of termites
Implications: the use of situational attribution is culturally created

11. Additional theories/research that support attribution theory
Epstein, 1983 Asch, 1951/1956
Milgram, 1974
Take notes Milgram ( )
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and Bobo Doll research

12. Activity Connect Milgram’s research to attribution theory
Notes

13. Personality and Behavior
Personality is defined in terms of traits
(Trait Theorists)
i.e. Five Factor Model
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Openness to experience
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Personality traits are…
Cross-situational
Stable
**Dispositional Factors**

14. Is behavior really consistent and stable?
Mischel disagrees
Less evidence of consistency
Only a moderate correlation between conscientiousness in different situations
Causes of behavior should look at the situation
Hartsshorne and May, 1928
Dishonest students in one school were not always dishonest in another school

15. Trait Theorist’s Reponses
We never said that it was specific behaviors at specific times
Classes of behavior
Range of different situations
General tendency
Don’t compare days, compare weeks

16. Research to support tendencies
Roberts and Del Vecchio, 2000
Correlational & Longitudinal Study: Surveys
Conclusion
High correlation between personality measures taken 7 years apart
Evidence supports that significant personality change beyond early adulthood is rare.

17. Your Test Results Go through all factors and highlight your results
Low or high?
Write whether you or agree or disagree with each factor
Take a personality test
ISBN
Chapter 4, Weblink 4.1