Announcements for March 16

1. Announcements for March 16 General Announcements • Notes on paper topics • Narrow the independent and dependent variables • Do not include dissertations, if possible • This week’s discussants: Liz, Margo, Justin • Responses to mid-term evaluations • Website will be up soon • Move chairs for discussion Week 9, Part 1

2. Agenda • Review: Two mechanisms for influence of immediate affect on cognitive processes: • Affect Priming and Affect as Information • Worksheet • Attribution Theories Week 9, Part 1

3. Affect Priming Example: Mood-State Dependency Learn A Learn B Test A ++ Sad Happy 00 Happy Happy Happy -- Sad Sad ++ Sad Happy 00 Sad Sad Sad -- Happy Happy Week 9, Part 1

4. Bower’s Mood-State Dependency Learn Happy Learn Sad % Retention Control Happy Recall Mood Sad Recall Mood Week 9, Part 1

5. Description Worksheet • Sheet 1: Bill Clinton • Sheet 2: A good friend or family member • Sheet 3: Yourself Week 9, Part 1

6. Week 9, Part 1

7. Two Attribution Biases • Fundamental Attribution Error • Tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to his or her dispositional qualities • Actor/Observer Effect (example: “hostile driver”) • Tendency to incorporate situational factors when explaining one’s own behavior and to neglect situational factors when explaining the behavior of others. Week 9, Part 1

8. What Causes These Biases? • Gestalt hypothesis: • behavior engulfs the field • Information hypothesis: • we have more information about our own motives and intents than we have about others Week 9, Part 1

9. What Reduces These Biases? • Cultural factors • Manipulations of cognitive load (Gilbert, Pelham & Krull, 1988) • Dispositional attributions are automatic • Situational attributions require effort • Therefore, “busy” participants were unable to make use of the situational information. Week 9, Part 1