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When studying external and internal attributions and how these relate to the fundamental attribution errors, believe that it is entirely based on one’s own schemas. I have read the text and the lesson, watched videos, etc. , and if you take into account what a schema is, it makes sense. A schema is when a person uses their own personal experiences to project meaning onto the environment or situations. It is how we make sense of the world, or use self- attribution and it is often skewed by those experiences we have had.
Internal attribution is when a reaction to a situation can be explained by a person’s own behavior or personality traits. The example from a prior assignment was the math test grade. The internal attribution the student used when getting an A is that they are good at math or being very intelligent, which are internal traits. When the same student gets an on the test, the student uses external attribution in that the reason for the F is the instructor not teaching the material well, too much on their plate, etc. They blame the environment rather than their lack of studying.
Likewise, we will tend to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt regarding our own errors and blame external factors. When we judge other’s situations we tend to blame internal factors. We can reduce the fundamental attribution error by giving people the benefit of the doubt and allowing for more external attributions to explain behavior. Our schemas will greatly impact how we choose to apply r-AWE. For example, I was a teen mom so will not be one of those people that looks at a pregnant teenager and says ‘Well, she’s a where” or “she is probably on drugs” or “her parents must be idiots”.
These are all things that people tend to say and they tend to blame internal factors. I have a schema and a personal experience in that situation that dictates my behavior and feelings about that situation. When someone sees a homeless man and decides not to give them money or food, maybe that’s because their FEE and schema tells them that they are faking homelessness for money, or their own neglect put them there so why do I need to give them money I worked hard for, etc.
This is a quote from a paper I wrote 2 weeks ago that explains how FEE can be reduced by examining external factors: “Essentially, this is our tendency to place blame on people. Because we don’t have any access to that person’s inner workings or thought process, we rely on facts we observe. There is no “benefit Of the doubt” in these cases, although there should be. Generally, this applies to people we don’t know. This type of attribution is explanatory where we try to make sense of events that happen. The explanation will either be positive or negative.
F-or example, take the mother that left her kids in the car to go on the job interview. Most people just looked at that and said “she is a terrible mother, there is no excuse for that, she doesn’t deserve to be a mother, she doesn’t care’, etc. This is all negative explanation. While some of those things might be true, people may have failed to take into consideration the mother’s extrinsic/external variables. The mother may not have had any family or rinds to help, the mother may have gotten a last minute request for the interview and did not have time to prepare her schedule properly, etc.
This is an explanation with a more positive spin. Point is, that we all do this a lot and it’s human nature. We need attribution, but maybe we should consider all the variables and try to give each other the benefit of the doubt. ” We should all take into consideration external factors and treat others how we would want to be treated and attribute others how we would attribute ourselves. The world might experience a decrease in violence, racism, and a full range of detrimental behaviors in general.
So its important that people be educated on the FEE and the two types of attribution so that We can just be nice to each other. It’s better to be optimistic than pessimistic. Understanding schemas and allowing people to be entitled to their reaction is also key, but we don’t have to react negatively to someone’s beliefs, we just need to be understanding. I think that when people apply schemas from their own experiences and adapt them to other peoples’ situations, in essence, you are more understanding. You become sympathetic of that person and think society needs more sympathy.