Soc.Psyc.Concepts
AP Psych
Mr. Aiello
Using Social Psychology Concepts
Social studies teachers Mr. Harned and Mr. Werner were discussing their unfortunate defeat in
the annual 2-on-2 basketball game against math teachers Mr. Moody and Mr. Kleinberg. Since
their defeat the previous year, they had been focused and determined to win. This year they had
been psyched up and confident of a victory, but still they suffered a crushing loss.
“I can’t believe we lost,” cried Mr. Harned. “I mean, we are fabulously talented athletes.
Those referees really called an unfair game!”
Yeah, you’re right,” agreed Mr. Werner. “It was an accident when my foot slipped and I
tripped Mr. Moody, but when Mr. Kleinberg started throwing those elbows in my face, it just
showed what a dirty player he is.”
“Yeah, and Mr. Moody deserved to be injured when he fell over your feet. He should
have known better than to have a compass and protractor in his pocket,” added Mr. Harned.
“Well, those math teachers are all alike. They’re such compulsive problem-solvers.
They probably spent weeks measuring angles and figuring probabilities on their shots and
rebounds,” explained Mr. Werner.
“But I really thought victory was ours this year,” Mr. Harned sighed.
“Yeah, me too,” chimed in Mr. Werner.
“Oh well, I guess winning isn’t everything,” concluded Mr. Harned.
“Yeah, you’re right. There’s more to life than sports,” agreed Mr. Werner.
Define and explain, in complete sentences, how each of the social psychology concepts listed
below is illustrated in the above story.
• Fundamental attribution error
• Just world phenomenon
• Actor-observer bias
• Self-serving bias
• Resolution of cognitive dissonance
• Stereotype
Soc.Psyc.Concepts
AP Psych
Mr. Aiello
Attributions
1. Dylan gets in a minor accident in the student parking lot.
a. Give an internal attribution to explain his behavior.
b. Give an external attribution to explain his behavior.
2. Adam and Ellie receive athletic scholarships to college.
a. Give an internal attribution to explain their behavior.
b. Give an external attribution to explain their behavior.
3. Grace and Sam get placed in the in-school suspension program.
a. Give an internal attribution to explain their behavior.
b. Give an external attribution to explain their behavior.
Determine what type of attribution error is made in each of the following scenarios.
1. Ally notices Cherry trip in the hall. She thinks to herself “how clumsy she is!”
2. When Billy performs well in a game he knows that he has worked hard and that his talent is
shining through, but when he has a poor performance, he knows that it is a result of a distracting
crowd.
Soc.Psyc.Concepts
AP Psych
Mr. Aiello
3. Victoria notices that Matt’s notes for psychology are not in a binder and concludes that Matt is
disorganized and sloppy.
4. Bebe got fired from her job because she was careless, but Rebecca says she got fired because
the boss didn’t like her.
5. Bob is attacked by a Chihuahua while jogging through the Demun neighborhood. When he
tells his sad story to Josh and Albert the next day they say “What did you expect? You know
there are loose dogs in that neighborhood. You should have run in The Center.”
6. When Lem lost the swimming meet, he attributed it to the fact that all of the other contestants
were Jewish and he stated “Everyone knows that Jewish people are just born fast swimmers.”
7. When Ava thinks she got rid of the skunk by her house, she reasons that it is because of her
skill at outsmarting a wild animal; when the skunk comes back, she says it is because skunks are
shrewd, crafty creatures that can never be controlled.