Assignment Number 16 Discussion/Writing Assignment Chapter 8. Behavior in Social and Cultural Context. (266-283)

Student Name _____________________ Date due: 10-18-04 Introduction to Psychology 101 Hal S. Bertilson, Ph.D.

If this paper is late and you believe it may qualify as an excused absence please explain

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Late papers. Unexcused late papers may be turned in for one-half credit for the written portion of the assignment.

Spacing. Papers must be typed, double spaced.

8-1/2 X 11 paper. In order to make handling papers easy and to ensure that none are misplaced, all papers are expected to be 8-1/2 X 11 inches, stapled, and with no torn, spiral notebook edges.

Review Exercise: Identify the Bias
Attribution theory and the just world hypothesis provide insight into the nature of the relationship between social factors and individual explanatory processes.
Assume that when students were asked to explain the source of their grades, they provided the explanations 1-5 below. Examine each explanation and identify the explanatory device it relies upon. State why you chose each explanatory device. Two of the items reflect two types of bias. The choices are:
	Just-world hypothesis (278) Self-serving bias (277-278) Dispositional attribution (277-279) Situational attribution (277)

1.	Grades result from a person's intelligence and self-discipline. When these are high, grades are good and vice versa.
2.	Grades depend on doing the right things. A person earns good grades for following the rules and bad grades for slipping up.
3.	Grades depend on quality teaching and educational materials. A person does well when quality is high and vice versa.
4.	I got a bad grade because the teacher wrote tricky questions that had nothing to do with what we talked about in class.
5.	I got a good grade because I am smart and I tend to do well on exams.