हिंदी

Concept of Attribution - Criticisms of Attribution Bias

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Topics

Estimated time: 12 minutes
  • The Cognitive View (Background)
  • Criticism
  • Kunda's Motivated Reasoning (1990)
  • Interactive Role of Biases
  • Inconsistency Among Researchers
  • Key Points: Criticisms of Attribution Bias
CISCE: Class 12

The Cognitive View (Background)

  • Attribution biases were seen as information processing errors — mistakes caused by mental shortcuts.
  • People were viewed as passive observers who judge others incorrectly due to limited brain capacity.
CISCE: Class 12

Criticism

  • Several researchers working in this area criticised the view that attribution biases are merely consequences of information processing errors or constraints.
  • They claimed that human beings do not just passively interpret the people around them and make attribution errors.
  • Instead, people are active and directed by a goal or motive, meaning their personal desires, emotions, and needs shape how they perceive and judge others.

Kunda's Motivated Reasoning (1990)

  • Kunda argued that biases happen when people are driven by motives and pressures.
  • These biases cannot be explained by cognitive processes alone.
  • Biased judgments form when a person is motivated to reach a particular conclusion.
  • This works only when the person can justify that conclusion.
CISCE: Class 12

Interactive Role of Biases

  • Three biases work together: cognitive bias, motivational bias, and counterfactual thinking.
  • Their influences cannot be separated by water-tight compartments.
  • They overlap each other — both positively and negatively.
CISCE: Class 12

Inconsistency Among Researchers

  • There is much inconsistency among psychologists studying attribution.
  • Different studies often reach contradictory conclusions.
  • No single unified theory of attribution bias exists.
CISCE: Class 12

Key Points: Criticisms of Attribution Bias

  • Cognitive View: Attribution bias was first seen as an information-processing error.
  • Criticism: People are not passive; their motives and emotions influence judgments.
  • Kunda (1990): Bias occurs when people are motivated to reach a desired conclusion.
  • Interactive Biases: Cognitive, motivational, and counterfactual biases work together.
  • Research Issue: Psychologists have different findings; no single theory of attribution bias.

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