Development of attribution theory

Development of attribution theory The Attribution Theory was developed by Fritz Heider, it looks at how people make sense of their world, and how they interpret events and relate them to their thinking and behaviour. The Attribution Theory divides the behaviour attributes into internal and external factors, internal attribution is an attribution that is made by looking at a persons characteristics, such as intelligence or personality, on the other hand external attribution is an attribution that is made when looking at factors outside the persons control, such as bad luck or peer pressure. Psychologists have found from research that people are often biased in their ways of thinking and judgment when deciding who or what is the cause of an event or action. External factors are attributed when others are successful in their goals and we are not, but internal factors are attributed when we are successful in our goals and others fail (Heider, 1958). The correspondent inference theory describes that an attribution is made when a judgement made by one person on another persons behaviour, which has been caused by a particular trait. This suggests that we believe that a persons behaviour is intentional and after identifying this we try to look for a personal characteristic which may have caused this behaviour (Manstead, Hewstone, 1996). According to the correspondent inference theory we can make a correspondent inference based on 2 major factors, the first is when we perceive that the person freely chose the behaviour, and the second is when we perceive that the person intended to do whatever he or she did. An example of correspondent inference is if we see someone beating someone else up, we will assume that they are going this deliberately, not because they are pretending and that they are a violent person by nature. An internal attribution is likely to be made if we think that the behaviour was freely chosen, intended and low in social desirability, an external attribution is more likely to be made if we believe that the behaviour was not freely chosen, unintended and socially desirable, we usually over rate internal attributions and under rate the role of external attributions. The covariation theory believes that people decide that the most likely cause of any behaviour is the factor that occurs as the time as the behaviour. The covariation theory focuses on external attributions in contrast to the correspondent inference theory which focuses on the process of making internal attributions and the factors beyond the person that may be causing the behaviour. According to the covariation theory, to make an attribution 3 pieces of information are needed. The first is consensus information, which informs us of whether other people have had a similar or different reaction when in the same situation. A situational attribution is made if there is a high consensus, which would indicate that others has a similar behavioural reaction, a person attribution is made if there is a low consensus, which would indicate that others had a different behavioural response. The second piece of information needed is distinctiveness information, which describes the situation in whi ch behaviour occurred, and determines whether or not the situation is unique or distinctive which may have caused the behaviour (Bordens Horowitz, 2002). A person attribution is made if the person acts this way in other situations as well as in this particular situation, however if the person does act differently in this situation compared to other situations then a situational attribution is made, and we assume that the behaviour was most likely caused by the situation that the person was in and not by the person themselves. The last piece of information needed is consistency information, which informs us of whether the person has acted this way before or if this is a one-time behaviour. One of the limitations of the covariation theory is that it fails to distinguish between the intentional and unintentional behaviour of a person (Hayes, 2002). Jurors often make internal and external attributions of the defendant and of the victim when declaring their verdicts within the courtroom. In one study researchers found that the jurors verdicts or suspicions of whether or not the defendant was guilty were not influenced by whether the defendant was disabled or not. Those jurors who did think that the defendant was guilty were less likely to convict the defendant if they were described as disabled rather than non-disabled. This tendency occurred because the jurors made fewer internal attributions for the disabled juveniles actions (Najdowski, Bottoms, Vargas Cummens, 2009). One case study investigated the trials in which the defendant was charged with a firearms related offence, it was found that if the accused had intended to use the firearm then they were found guilty by the jurors. This case study shows supports for the correspondent inference theory as the defendant chose and freely intended to use the firearms (Tinsley, 2001). In a film called 12 Angry Men, a young boy is put on trial for the murder of this father, the majority of jurors decide that the boy is guilty. One juror, played by Lee J. Cobb makes internal attributions of the boys behaviour based on the fact that he is from the slums, and believes that the boy must have no respect or sense of morality because of where he is from (Lumet, 1957). A criticism of the correspondent inference theory is that is does not account for fundamental attribution error, which is a term used when people intensify the importance of explanations linked to a persons personality and reduce the importance of explanations linked to the situation which occurred to explain a persons behaviour (Heffner, 2001). In the film 12 Angry Men, evidence used against the boy includes when he is heard shouting at this father Ill kill ya before leaving the house, as the film continues, jurors begin to argue among themselves and Lee J. Cobb is insulted, to which he replies Ill kill ya in anger. This is a good example of fundamental attribution error as Lee J. Cobb was angry in the situation and does not actually mean he is going to kill the other juror. In addition to this another pointed out that if the boy went back to retrieve the knife he must have been guilty and was trying to cover up the evidence, which suggests that if he did kill his father then he intended to do so. It seems that a defendants characteristics have a strong influence on jurors decision making, Dowdle, Gillen and Miller (1974) concluded that significant leniency is applied to defendants who are attributed with positive characteristics by jurors, compared to those who are attributed with negative characteristics (Decaire, 1999). When the juror is provided with previous convictions of the defendant in trial, this can provide them with extra information as well as influence their decision. In one study, researchers investigated the effects of the defendants prior record on mock jurors judgements and found highest conviction rates would occur when the defendant had a prior sentence which was the identical to the charge they were presently being prosecuted for, and lowest conviction rates if the defendant had no past convictions (Wissler Saks, 1985). This shows support for the consistency element of the covariation theory, as previous convictions of the same present charge provide jurors which an attribution that this person has behaved this way before and is repeating this behaviour despite being convicted. Padawar-Singer and Barton (1974) found that there was a 50% more chance that jurors decided the defendant was guilty if they were aware of the defendants past criminal record, compared to if they did not have this information (Brewer, 2002). In support of this, one study found that mock jurors were more likely to convict the defendant when they had evidence of a prior conviction than when they had no evidence (Greene Dodge, 1995). It may argued that jurors should make their decisions based on the evidence available and not on information about the defendants past convictions because people do change and just because a person was convicted once does not mean that this should be used against them for their entire life. However in one case study it was found that Simon Berowitz was cleared of burglary at a solicitors office without the jury knowing that he had 230 previous convictions for burglary. In this instance jurors should have been provided with the information of Berowitzs previous convictions as the consistency of his actions would have allowed jurors to make a more informed decision, but as the jurors were not provided with the defendants previous convictions they may have made a situational attribution using distinctive information, believing that Berowitz had never been charged for burglary before (Brewer, 2002). In the film 12 Angry Men, the juror played by Jack Klugman was portrayed as a man who, like the boy, was from the slums, initially he seems unsure whether the boy is guilty or not but goes along with the majority verdict because of pressure (Lumet, 1957). This is an example of situational attribution using consensus information, as described by the covariation theory, as the juror is looking at the decisions made by others and then makes his own. Not all research has found that jurors make internal or external attributions about the defendant when making decisions. In one study, a survey was performed and it was found by researchers that one of the most influential factors contributing to jury making decision was the knowledge jurors had of the law as well as the instructions and information about the case (Kakar, 2002). Other factors may also affect jurors decision making such as the ages of the jurors, in one court case, researchers found a difference in length of sentence and the amount of responsibility attributed to the parent between undergraduate mock jurors and high school mock jurors (Ackerman, McMahon Fehr, 1984). Racial leniency is also another contributing factor found in many jury studies, Sommers Ellsworth (2000) and Ugweugbu (1976) both found that the jurors decisions were influenced when the juror was of the same race as the victim or defendant. People make internal and external attributions on a day-to-day basis trying to find an explanation as to why people behave in a certain way and although many studies have found that jurors use the information of intent of the defendant, past convictions and the behaviour and verdicts of their fellow jurors to help them making a decision, there have also been other studies which show other contributing factors which should be taken into account, such the age, race, gender of the juror and the defendant as well the amount of knowledge the juror has about the law. References Heider, F. (1958). The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. John Wiley Sons Manstead, A.S.R and Hewstone, M. (1996). Attribution Theories. The Blackwall Encyclopaedia of Social Psychology, pg 67. Wiley-Blackwall. Bordens, K. S and Horowitz, I.A. (2002). Social Psychology (2nd Ed). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hayes, N. (2002). Foundations of Psychology (3rd Ed). Thomson Learning. Heffner, C.L. (2001). Psychology 101. Chapter 8: Social Psychology. Retrieved January 3, 2010, from http://www.allpsych.com/psychology101/attribution_attraction.html Najdowski, C.J., Bottoms, B.L., Vargas, M.C. Cummens, M.L. (2009). All Academic Research. Understanding Jurors Perceptions of Juvenile Defendants, Effects of Intellectual Disability and Confession Evidence. Retrieved January 3, 2010 from http://allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/9/5/7/8/p295784_index.html Tinsley, Y. (2001). Jury Decision Making: A Look Inside The Jury Room. British Society of Criminology, Vol. 4. Lumet, S. (Director) Fonda, H. Rose, R. (Producers). (1957). 12 Angry Men (Film) USA: MGM. Kakar, S. (2002). An analysis of the relationship between jurors personal attributes and decision making. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Vol. 17 (2) pp 45-53. Ackerman, A.D., McMahon, P.M. Fehr, L.A. (1984). Defendant characteristics and judgment behaviours of adolescent mock jurors. Journal of Youth and Adolescents, Vol. 13 (2), pp 123-130. Wissler, R.L Saks, M.J. (1985). On the Inefficacy of Limiting Instructions: When Jurors use Prior Conviction Evidence to Decide on Guilt. Law and Human Behaviour, Vol. 19 (1) pp. 37-48. Brewer, K. (2000). Psychology and Crime. Heinemann. Greene, E. Dodge, M. (1995). The Influence of Prior Record Evidence on Juror Decision Making. Law and Human Behaviour, Vol. 19 (1) pg 67. Ugwuegbu, D. C. E. (1976). Black Jurors Personality Trait Attribution to a Rape Case Defendant. Social Behaviour and Personality, Vol. 4 (2), 193-200. Sommers, S.R. Ellsworth, P.C. (2000). Race in the Courtroom: Perception of Guilt and Dispositional Attributions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 26 (11), 1367-1379 Decaire, M.W. (1999). The Faltering Common Law Jury System: A Psychological Perspective. Retrieved January 3, 2010 from http:www.suite101.com/article.cfm/forensic_psychology.18339/3

Voice Over Internet Protocol Essay -- essays research papers

Voice Over Internet Protocol(Voip) VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL (VoIP) INTRODUCTION: In the eyes of most, all packets are created equal. One of the most active areas of telecommunications today is in the area of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The logic behind this trend makes perfect sense. If we have invested heavily in an Internet Protocol (IP) network, why can’t we make full use of it? This is a question posed by many managers and Information Technology (IT) professionals in a wide range of businesses. Many businesses would prefer to have one network in and out of their business for reasons ranging from cost effectiveness to manageability. IP telephony offers a promise of consolidation. This will allow an enterprise to converge its traditional phone system and newer data network for greater efficiency. Arieh Dranger, president of neXTel Systems LLC says, â€Å"I don’t think it’s a question of whether we need VoIP, but when it will come together, because it represents a natural progress o f integrating data—period. The IP protocol is probably the most efficient at combining a universal communications network.† Basically, IP telephony is taking the telecom world by storm. It has evolved from a little known and used application in 1995 to an application that is poised for global adoption. But as with all technology, there is a price to be paid, and several entities vying for a piece of the pie. WHAT IS VoIP and HOW DOES IT WORK? To put it simply, VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol. It’s a technology that allows network managers to route phone call over the network they use for data transmission. A voice travels over a corporate Intranet or the Internet instead of the public telephone system. Special gateways installed at both the sending and receiving end of a communications channel converts voice to IP packets and back again to voice. This process must take place in a time frame of less than 100 milliseconds to sustain the Quality of Service ( QoS) that users are accustomed to from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Now let’s take a walk on the more detailed side of what VoIP is and how it works. First and foremost, VoIP is an emerging technology still in the early stages. A personal computer (PC) must capture an analog voice and convert it to a digital signal, compress the audio with a compression-decompression (codec) device and then move... ...the Internet. The players are as equally far flung, from the traditional cornerstones of the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) to the new generation startups, to the steps of local, state, and federal governmental agencies. Such dynamism makes it difficult for IT managers to filter the flood of information and assess how VoIP might fit into their networks. Unless PSTN undergoes some massive restructuring, its long-term existence in its current form is in serious doubt. Emerging Internet technologies will be the low cost solution for managers looking for mixed traffic connectivity. Only in the end, after all the smoke has cleared will we know which business models survived the shake down in this lucrative market. Other problems are bound to arise in the arenas of technology and regulation. At this point there is significant progress to be made in the area of VoIP to achieve the quality we enjoy today with the PSTN. The only sure thing from this technology or any other that will al ways be consistent, reliable and never become outdated is that the Government WILL find a way to ensure their revenue stream†¦ after all â€Å"There’s no such thing as a free lunch.† 6 pages Word Count: 2352

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime Essay

If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime or how about let the punishment fit the crime. These two statements have been around for years. If someone commits a crime they should be punish but to what extent? Should similar crimes be dealt with the same? Such as if a person had a small amount of marijuana for personal use in a car at school, or they had an ounce of marijuana in their vehicle in a school zone. Should the law treat these incidents the same? Or should they treat these cases differently? Some people believe you should be sentence to a mandatory jail term no matter what crime you commit. They feel this will deter people from committing crimes. Others feel criminals are doing too much time for mostly none violent criminal activity which put a strain on entire communities. This debate has been brewing for years. Are mandatory minimum sentences doing more harm than good? The movement to establish mandatory minimum sentences for drug related offenses began in the early 1950†s and gained momentum in the early 1970s (Carrillo, 2000). At this time the judge had the discretion of giving the defendant a mandatory sentence or a more lenient sentence. In 1986 the law was changed were as the judge lost the power to make a choice in the length of a sentence he or she could impose on an offender. They had to follow strict sentencing guidelines which some judges was even oppose to. The main reason for the mandatory minimum sentences during the earlier stages in the game was due to the growing drug trade. This was a losing effort by law enforcement to stop the trafficking of drugs into the United States. In the eyes of many this obviously didn’t work. As time went on the drug trade became bigger and better with more sophisticated technics and more potent drugs.

What a Rush essays

What a Rush essays The movie starts off in Alaska with a shot of a trail expanding beyond a vast amount of snow. This shows the ruffness of these adventurers. Then it cuts to show the Little Fellow(Charlie Chaplin) walking casually along, and being followed by a bear. Big Jim is then shown to set his setting. He just found some gold. Both come together in the shack of Black Larsen. They spend a couple of nights in the shack through a horrible storm. Later Big Jim loses his memory thanks to a blow from Black Larsen. Big Jim finds the little fellow to lead him back to the cabin to find his mountain of gold. After a humorous scene in the cabin on the ledge they find the gold and become multi-millionaires. The go on a cruise and he finds Gorgia. There they fall in love. The Characters in the movie, the Gold Rush, were very well casted. The tramp(Charlie Chaplin) is a clever fellow that is head over heels for Gorgia. Then is broken hearted when she does not show up for the New Years eve dinner. Big Jim lives for adventure, excitement, gold, pain, suffering, and looks forward to the life of luxury. Gorgia is very shallow and is just having a bit of The technical portion of the movie was also interesting. This movie used what is known as mat. very cleverly done the tipping cabin especially. Sound played an important part in this film every character had their own theme, every place. Charlie Chaplin used sound to dramatize the audience to pity the tramp, from the cabin to the party. The cabin was very dreary, the party was Lighting helped also to set the mood to a dark and damp cabin and a bright Saloon. The cold winter storm was lighted to show the solitude of The Special effects, old but great, helped to see the broader shots. The tipping cabin, the tramp almost falls to his death. He is shown from ...

Rise of the American Political Parties essays

Rise of the American Political Parties essays There have always been irrational views of our nation from the people. Some believed if you desire a strong federal government, youll need to address the key factors; ease any national problems, establish a plan to activate industrialization and infrastructure, and develop a commercial economy which would help strengthen the government and its power. These factors were believed to be the sole of the problem, which led to relentless disagreements among Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Both were members of Washingtons Presidential Cabinet, and soon after working together, these two men went separate ways because of their disagreements. They both soon gained national attention and support from publicly addressing their different views about the issues or concerns within our nation. Another issue that arose in the conflict was the refusal of Washington coming to Frances aid during the French Revolution and how did this affect his goal of national attention and support when public izing his Farewell Address? These were a few of the many actions that created tensions over disagreements that soon led to the dividing of the parties in our country. The growth of political parties had arisen in the early American Republic because of antagonistic views on the arrangement of a national government and its power, plus the arrangement of national policies under our new nation. The views between political successors were diverse when addressing their intentions to try to make our nation better. Tension between common people soon arose too, which was inspired by the conflict that started between prominent leaders over opposing views on issues within the nation. In Documents 1, 2, s views on Hamilton and Hamiltons views on Jefferson, and also the key differences between the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton briefly address their views for...

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren - Essay Example In the present family system, where separation between the partners is becoming very prevalent, grandparents take the charge to rear their grandchildren. Moreover, due to work schedule or career of the parents or due to single parenting, grandparents come forward to support their grandchildren. The present article discusses in detail about the grandparents raising grandchildren, the problems both face, their struggle over various issues and achievements of the child. "Grandparents raising their grandchildren", "grandparent caregivers", "grandparents-as-parents" and "grandparent-headed families" are interchangeable terminologies which refer to the families where grandparents provide full time parental care to their grandchildren in the absence of the children's biological parents. In this era of recession where the people are losing their jobs at a much faster rate, parenting is becoming a big worry and therefore parents are becoming more inclined and turning to their own parents to rear their children because of several reasons including the financial insecurity and also because they are seeking jobs elsewhere and therefore grandparents raise their grandchildren due to the inability of the children's parents to effectively meet their parenting responsibilities. There are other conditions when grandparents become the full-time parent, may be either because of the death of the parent or a parent is away in the military, or because of the career of the parent(s) demand support to rear their kids, and rarely because of the grandparents living along with their children as a single joint family or under the rarest circumstances when the parent/s may be mentally ill, incarcerated, or merely and regrettably incapable of caring for their children (Proud Grandparents). In many Western societies grandparents have play a dual role- as care providers of their grandchildren and also as grandchild's parents. And therefore provide full-time parenting role for their grandchildren. This includes a number of changes in family structure and social conditions (Kornhaber, 1996). Grandparents raising grandchildren is not a new phenomenon. Historically, they have always stood to take over the care of their grandchildren in times of family crisis and have played major roles in raising their grandchildren (Kornhaber, 1996). The growing social phenomenon in USA showed 44% increase over the preceding decade in the number of children living with their grandparents or other relatives. According to the Census 2000 Supplementary survey between 2.3 and 2.4 million grandparents have primary responsibility for the care and upbringing of 4.5 million children (Hayslip & Patrick, 2003a). This phenomenon has captured the attention of researchers, service providers and policy makers in the USA, resulting in a number of interventions to assist grandparents raising grandchildren (Hayslip & Kaminski, 2005). The U.S. 2000 Census displays that around 2.5 million families with grandparents raising their grandchildren (Kornhaber, 1996). The number is on rise as many families do support other relatives, who act as parents, for e.g. raising their brother or sister's children or, even yet, raising their niece or nephew's children. It is an observation that at times grandparents are at work also and still raising their grandchildren. There is a kind of mental, emotional, or financial boding between grandparents and their grandchildr

Changing tax laws to reduce tax avoidance through the use of Research Paper

Changing tax laws to reduce tax avoidance through the use of partnerships - Research Paper Example Lipatov, (2011) argued that it is unfair for a common man earning a meager income that is just enough to sustain themselves to be charged every penny of his revenue whereas big companies and wealthy people are exempted through avoidance of taxation. Non-remittance does not only reduces government revenue but also brings the taxation system into disrepute therefore authorities charged with taxation needs to prevent avoiding tax or keep it within check (Desai & Dharmapala, 2006). According to PWC (2012), Majority of those involved in tax avoidance usually invoke section 88 and section 100 of the income tax act in order to shield themselves. Section 88 have therefore been barred from being referred to when the gain from the interest of partnership far exceeds the cost of the asset fair market value (Government of Canada, 2012). The budget proposals have also propose for the application of section 100 up to the point of sale of partnership interest to the person who is not a resident of the place in reference, this will however be an exception in a situation whereby is carrying out its activities through a permanent establishment (Mullainathan, Schwartz stein, & Congdon, 2012). A Partner should also be able to waive on behalf of all his partners within a three year limit for making a determination (2012 Federal Budget Commentary). The law should be clear enough according to Rosenberg (1989) because this will stop the taxpayer`s personal exertion income being taken as being income of the partnership and later being diverted as the companies` loss under the agency and management agreements. Reason being surpluses or net profits from those monies will be forwarded from that partnership daily to the group finance companies (Batt, 2012). The partnership acts should introduce various amendments to the taxes acts, that is according to the Blundell (2011) view. These