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Social Psychology: the Mind

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Submitted By kpasia94
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Pages 3
Kerwin Pasia
Professor Ayers
Social Psychology
13 September 2014

Benchmark Assignment: Cultures and Fundamental Attribution Error When we speak of the fundamental attribution error, we are speaking of individuals' tendencies to interpret others' behaviors based on what we assume to be internal factors, such as a person's possible personality traits, capabilities, or even possible motives. In reality, there could just as easily be external factors governing behavior. But when it comes to fundamental attribute error, individuals will neglect thinking of external factors to interpret behavior and only interpret behavior through internal factors (Sabini, Siepmann, & Stein, 2001). A good example can be one driver witnessing a second driver running a red light. If the first driver were to judge the second driver's behavior by making a fundamental attribution error, the first driver might assume that the second driver ran the red light simply because that driver is a reckless, inconsiderate, and possibly even unskilled driver. On the other hand, another explanation could be that the second driver ran the red light simply because the driver was experiencing an emergency situation that called for drastic action, a situation such as needing to get someone to the hospital. Individualistic cultures are those who put more emphasis on the needs of an individual as opposed to the needs of a group as a whole like a community as a whole or even a whole nation. When a culture is individualistic, behavior within that culture is governed by the internal attributes of individuals, such as their own personal preferences, their own personality types, and even their own motives (Sosik & Jung, 2002). Another result of an individualistic culture is that since individuals are so focused on the self and the internal attributes that govern their own behaviors, they also have a

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