Monday Message - Jan. 30 2017
Dear Psychology Students, Alums, Faculty, Staff, and Supporters,
You made it through the first week of the term! Congrats. As you get deeper into your classes, your work, your family responsibilities, clubs, sports, and other extracurriculars, you might find your cognitive load getting quite high. It is in that mindset that errors in understanding others are more likely to occur. One of the key errors that we humans make has been termed "The Fundamental Attribution Error." It was first discussed by Jones and Harris (1967).
What is the Fundamental Attribution Error? In a nutshell (I'm simplifying here), when you're late for class you know it's because you had the best of intentions but there was traffic, there was no parking, etc. Yet, when someone else is late for class you might think "Oh, that person is disrespectful. How could he be so late?" And you don't consider that he also was trying his best to get there.
So, the task here (will probably take a lifetime of practice) is to consider the reasons for others' behavior beyond the easy external explanations.
Finally, please put an event on your calendar. Feb 9, 2017 at 6:30-8:30 in the UC Ballroom. Professor Snapp has invited an expert from India, Prabodh Chaitanya, Director of the Swami Dayananda Gurukulam Student Home for Boys in Kerala, India, to talk to our campus about the ways we treat each other and how we treat ourselves. These patterns have implications for the ways our society functions (or doesn't).
Take good care,
Dr. Dyer
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