Author Question: Describe the difference in the view of an actor (a person performing a behavior) and an observer of ... (Read 33 times)

bobypop · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

Describe the difference in the view of an actor (a person performing a behavior) and an observer of the behavior in terms of the kind of attribution that is made. What role does this play in people's conception of self in the present and in the past?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss introspection. What is it? Is it a good thing? More specifically, what can happen to specific attitudes or behaviors if we introspect about them?

What will be an ideal response?

Chou · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer:
Actors see their behaviors as situationally driven, while observers tend to make dispositional attributions. People see their past self as if they were an observer, and, as a result, see their behavior as more dispositionally driven, as compared with their present self, which they see as more driven by situation.

Answer to Question 2

Answer:
Introspection is thinking at length about the self to get to know ourselves. We may generate reasons for our behaviors/attitudes by coming up with logical theories for their causes. But these may not be why we really feel as we do about an attitude object, nor be a good explanation for our behavior. We may end up changing an attitude in a way that doesn't match our true self.