The concept I am going to take from this week’s assigned
reading is false and accurate attributions. People make attributions about
others all of the time. I think a lot of it has to do with assumptions. Many people
make assumptions and that can lead to false attributions as well as accurate
attributions. For example, I made a false attribution about a teammate when I didn’t
know him very well. I thought he was kind of a cocky kid who liked to talk and I
had a little problem with him for some reason. I made this false attribution
from what other people had told me but did not give him a chance before I actually
knew him. It turned out he was actually a good guy and he is pretty funny. Another
example is when I met another teammate and thought he was a very good player
and a funny guy. I also didn’t know him very well but that is what it seemed
like. It turned out I was right and made an accurate attribution about this
guy. I think making attributions can be very challenging because you do not
know if they are accurate or false.
Today I went to brunch with family that I was visiting and the issue of false attributions actually came up in conversation. My grandma talks a lot and will often assign false attributions to people, especially the people she knows well. Don't get me wrong, my grandma is great but it can be frustrating to be told that you are acting a certain way based her assumptions about your behavior. I'm not sure why she thinks this, but my grandma seems to believe that I have problems with low-energy. This is not the case, and in fact, the truth is quite the opposite. If ever I seem run-down or over-worked, it can be attributed to the fact that I chase around after my 3 1/2 year old. Today at brunch, she told me that I am tired because I have problems falling asleep (this is not true). I let it go because it wasn't worth the argument, but it can be annoying at times.
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