Attribution Theory and Person Perception

AP Psychology· difficulty 3/5

Replicating Festinger and Carlsmith, students performed a tedious peg-turning task and were paid either 1or1 or20 to tell a waiting student the task was enjoyable. Students paid 1laterratedthetaskasmoreenjoyablethanstudentspaid1 later rated the task as more enjoyable than students paid20. Both groups initially reported the task as boring.

An observer who concludes that the $1 students "really must have liked the task" without considering the manipulation is committing:

  • A

    Confirmation bias

  • B

    The actor-observer effect favoring the situation

  • C

    The fundamental attribution error

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  • D

    The self-serving bias

Explanation

Attributing the students' positive ratings to internal preference, while ignoring the situational pressure to justify their lie, exemplifies the fundamental attribution error.

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