Friday 15 March 2024

‽istis ponders and attributes (weekending March 16th 2024)

 

‽istis ponders and attributes  (weekending March 16th 2024)

This week ‽istis has wondered about ‘attribution theory’:

“Attribution theory deals with how the social perceiver uses information to arrive at causal explanations for events.  It examines what information is gathered and how it is combined to form a causal judgment”.   Fiske and Taylor 1991[i]

Two types seem to be of particular contemporary importance:

Dispositional – v - Situational

In brief:

·      Dispositional: we may attribute/explain the behaviour of someone with primary or exclusive reference to that person's nature, personality, or beliefs - or assumptions about their nature, personality, or beliefs.

·      Situational: we may attribute/explain the behaviour of someone with primary or exclusive reference to the situation they are in or the environment - or our assumptions about their situation or the impact of the environment.

And a pretty common suggestion seems to be that for many of us:

·         our own behaviour including that which others may find problematic, is nevertheless generally framed by us as reasonable, explicable (where explanation may be considered an excuse) and contextual to the situation:

o   I had to whizz past you and cut in to the ‘going down to a single lane of traffic’ because I’m late for (my very important) work; I just missed the sign this time, easily done; it was a one off; I’m not the type of person who whizzes past and cuts in. An exogenous/outside of me explanation. Perhaps it can even turn from: ‘the circumstances led me to do that’, to: ‘you made me do that!', 'the situation you put me in has made me do this.’*

·         the behaviour of an other/others perhaps especially that which we find problematic, is not considered reasonable, not in seen in situational context but is explained by someone's very general disposition, even what they are intrinsically and fundamentally like:

o   you had to whizz past me and cut in to the ‘going down to a single lane of traffic’ because you didn’t leave early enough for work (which you probably think is far more important than mine anyway and because you don’t get up in time, because you are lazy, etc, etc. ); can’t you read the signs, or is that you read them and you think that they are only meant for everyone else to take note of and comply with?; I bet you do this sort of thing all the time…  because that is what you are like – you’re probably the sort of child who used to push in to the dinner queue at school! – and I bet your parents were like that too). An endogenous/inside of you explanation. Your behaviour tells me exactly what you are like!   

Time for a bit of reflection on personal responses and attributions made over this week...


But also, this weekending, ‽istis wonders if there may be linked cognitive processes?

The ‘response - perhaps including dismay/upset/disgust/outrage/motivation for revenge, for vengeance, for proclaimed justification of violence, or punishment, or hostage-taking, or land-taking, or occupying, or segregating, or bombing, or firing rockets, or killing my family - or child, or destruction of homes, hospitals, places of worship and schools (delete as your disposition and focus of concern dictates) - if you did that to me!’ phenomenon.

   'What if this were happening to me-ism?'

Possible situations to ponder from this week (across a spectrum of issues with perhaps varying levels of significance or consequence) come to mind. What might I think and how might I respond if:

·       a national newspaper edited images of the royal family[ii] (removing a wedding ring, for example)

·       you came over here, taking our jobs and houses, using our health system, wanting your family to live with you[iii]; foreigners, immigrants, you Brits - calling yourself ex-pats!

·       you were trying desperately to get to a safer place, or join members of your family, by the only means apparently available – even by climbing into a small boat in a rough sea (especially if you happen to be Welsh! - see episode 3 of ‘The Way’[iv], watched this week)

·       it wasn’t a Conservative Party donor but instead was ----- (insert your own political/social description/caricature of someone who you might define as an opponent or even an extremist[v]) who said the sort of things about an MP that have been reported this week (and do not need additional airtime here![vi]), eventually condemned by the Prime Minister as ‘racist and wrong’[vii]

·       people, a state or a nation were to be violent, or punish, or take hostages, or take land, or occupy, or segregate, or bomb, or fire rockets, or kill my family - my child, or destroy homes, hospitals, places of worship and schools

·      you were to stand by and not condemn…


A final ponderance:

‽istis wonders whether the way that I explain any difference between how I:

    i) attribute cause to my own behaviour,      

    and 

    ii) attribute cause to your behaviour 

just perhaps, possibly, maybe tells us most about my fundamental and intrinsic nature, personality or belief…  

And to end with a thought experiment: perhaps, possibly, maybe imagine that the 'I' above could be you too‽

©‽istis

NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog entries to be found on X/Twitter with replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders.

X/Twitter ‘follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...  


[ii] Many, many references including: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g30s0OPOCM

[vi] Many references but this is from a report of a new and worth-checking-out-I-reckon podcast:  https://news.sky.com/story/electoral-dysfunction-lee-andersons-defection-and-the-diane-abbott-race-row-show-politics-is-toxic-13094886


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