In a Rosenthal-style study, teachers are told (falsely, at random) that certain students are "academic late bloomers" likely to surge in achievement. Eight months later, these randomly chosen students show greater IQ gains than classmates, and teachers rate them as more curious. Observers note teachers smiled more, called on them sooner, and gave longer feedback.
The teacher's "lazy" explanation also illustrates the fundamental attribution error because it:
- Acheck_circle
Overemphasizes dispositional causes while ignoring situational influences such as teacher behavior
- B
Demonstrates the actor-observer asymmetry from the student's view
- C
Confuses correlation with causation
- D
Reflects in-group favoritism toward the student
Explanation
Attributing the student's outcome to internal traits ("lazy") while ignoring documented situational influences (less teacher attention, shorter feedback) is the fundamental attribution error.