While walking through the mall, John was nearly knocked over by a woman who was struggling with 2 crying children. The woman did not apologize. Deciding that the woman was overwhelmed and bumping into him was an accident, John did not say or do anything. However, a little while later, he was nearly knocked over by a woman who was alone. Deciding that this must have been done on purpose, John began yelling at the woman. The difference in John’s response to the same behavior (i.e., nearly getting knocked over) is due to a difference in his:
Explanation
Answer: C - The difference in John’s response to the same behavior (i.e., nearly getting knocked over) is due to a difference in his attribution.
As humans, we try to explain behaviors of others. The explanations we make about the causes of behavior are attributions, and tend to be automatic. In the case of John, it was not the behavior itself (i.e., getting nearly knocked over) that caused his reaction; rather it was his attribution (i.e., his belief about the cause of the behavior) that caused his reaction.
