Answer to Question 1
Causal attributions are explanations of why behaviors occur. A dispositional attribution is a causal attribution in which the cause resides within the actor. A situational attribution is when the cause is thought to reside outside of the actor. There is research indicating that younger people tend to focus more on dispositional information whereas middle-aged and older adults, due to increased life experience, may consider both types of information (situational and dispositional) when coming to conclusions about why people behave as they do. In a series of investigations, Blanchard-Fields provided subjects with vignettes in which the outcomes were positive or negative and then assessed whether the subjects felt the outcomes were due to dispositional factors, situational factors, or a combination of both. Older adults made more dispositional attributions, but only in negative outcome events.
Answer to Question 2
Personal goals change across the life span. While younger adults may strive for achievement, older adults may strive for a balance between their work and family lives. We choose goals based on our interests and our physical and cognitive limitations and strengths. As we grow older, our limitations become more salient and require that we reevalaute our personal goals. One example of this is a study that required older and younger adults to memorize a list of words while walking through an obstacle course. Older adults were willing to do less well on the memory event in order to preserve their balance and safety in the obstacle course.
(A–B) Two types of canes.
The energy set-point view that is the basis of many people’s thinking about hunger and eating.
Sources and Types of Air Pollution
Healthy Eating Behaviors and Weight Gain Are Important Considerations during the Third Trimester
People with normal color vision see the number 29 in the chart; however, those who are color-blind c
Survivorship curves for people in the United States in the early 20th and early 21st centuries