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

Word Processing, Database and Spreadsheet as Applications of Productivi

Word Processing, Database and Spreadsheet as Applications of Productivity Software Throughout the course of a person’s life, he or she will probably use a computer, which maybe for school, work, or personal reasons. These tasks could become tedious and long. But, there is certain software that has been developed to ease the difficulties of getting these things done. Productivity software can help to make people’s activities more effective as well as efficient. Three widely used applications are word processing, database, and spreadsheet. Word processing is a popular application that is used for creating, editing, and formatting text-based documents. These documents include letters, memos, reports, fax cover sheets, mailing labels, newsletters, and many others. All of the things can be formatted by changing fonts and font size, changing the colors of characters, and organizing text. Many other functions are applied by word processing. Changing margins, adding and deleting text, adding clip art and pictures, finding and replacing text, using headers and f...

Globalization and Transnational Terrorism Defined Essay

The world nowadays is facing what is terrorism. Terrorism can be defined as the threat or use of violence with the intent of causing fear in a target group, in order to achieve some objectives e. g. political , where as Globalization is a process rather than an outcome. It is best defined as â€Å"the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up and deepening impact of interregional flows and patterns of interaction†. 4 Today’s â€Å"globalization† is a product of the 1990s. Globalization is a critical feature of the context in which transnational terrorism has grown. Despite the tendency to view the current transnational terrorist threat as having religious inspiration, it is more accurate to see it as being motivated, at least in part, by the inequalities between nations as well as within them. It was after Sept. 11th when the US was attacked by the terrorists , the very discourse of international relations and global politics has been transformed. Before the event of Sept. 11th, the important and most talked about issues were geo-economics in nature. International Submits and organization had agendas of Globalization and humanitarian. But now geopolitics and security concerns have once again become the central issue . There were many improvements regarding politically front where there became a consensus that democracy was not only the best but also the only legitimate way of organizing modern polities. the globalization of the economy was a foregone conclusion as nations scrambled to liberalize their economies in order to live up to the new standards set by the World Trade Organization whereas In the social arena, lifestyle and tastes shaped by multinational consumer corporations were well on the way to change the global popular culture. But just after the Sept. 11th event there was great sense of insecurity that because of terrorism inspired the US economy and the government, the two most important forces behind globalization, and that has resulted in a reassertion of sovereignty by the US and other nations. The fear that liberal standards are facilitating terrorism is causing the US and other European Union members to control transborder transactions. There are efforts to stop the resources moving from one place to another and this has lead to greater scrutiny of banks and setting up of strict measures that will prevent the flow of capital. There is a trend today’s more VISA restriction , keeping an eye on the foreigners just because to prevent any mishap. Governments are engaged in international cooperation in order to monitor the flow of information, people and monies across countries. These measures have resulted in the change of priorities in which means that cost is now second to security. If this state of affairs persists, globalization be retarded and the very instruments that facilitate and accelerate globalization will be blunted. Globalization and Transnational Terrorism Defined Before exploring the relationship between globalization and transnational terrorism, it is very necessary to understand what often politicized and misinterpreted terms. Globalization is a process rather than an outcome. It is best defined as â€Å"the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up and deepening impact of interregional flows and patterns of interaction†. Modern globalization has taken place in three forms: economic, cultural and political, each with its distinct features and effects. Transnational terrorism is terrorism that has transcended the confines of the territorially defined nation-state in terms of both its objectives and operations. Transnational terrorist groups are usually characterized by a universals ideology, enhanced mobility and communication networks, multinational sources of recruitment and funding, and cross-border operations. Kegley, (2002) Globalization as a Motivation for Terror Globalization is a critical feature of the context in which transnational terrorism has grown. Despite the tendency to view the current transnational terrorist threat as having religious inspiration, it be of no doubt that a part of transnational terrorism is motivated by the inequalities between nations as well as within them . Globalization has its fair share of â€Å"discontents†, while terrorists have always â€Å"aimed to exploit the frustrations of the common people†. Stapley , (2006). Globalization, in its various penetrative forms of westernization, secularization, democratization, consumerism and the growth of market capitalism, represents an onslaught to less privileged people in conservative cultures. It is certain through globalization U. S threaten traditions, religion and way of life, while bringing unfair distributions of wealth and power. This way, the growth of disgruntled communities has proven to be the primary source of recruitment and support for transnational terrorists globally. Nassar(2004) Through Cultural globalization western life and values are projected throughout the world via media and internet. Because of this some Countries feels this has an attack on their religious teachings and cultural traditions, and is generating movements of resistance, including support for transnational terrorism. Finally, terrorism can most importantly be traced to a fundamental motivation – the struggle for power. US has been very much benefited by the Political globalization where they formed strong alliances with national governments, including undemocratic and oppressive ones. US in order to protect its strategies interests extents its military might internationally, it also supports oppressive regimes and its the presence of US forces in Saudi Arabia, are some of the things that is not accepted by many countries. Therefore, to the extent that the economic, cultural and political dimensions of the US-led global order impinge upon and undermine Middle Eastern and/or Muslim ways of life, or at least are seen to do so, it elicits from militant Islamists and their supporters violent responses framed in the idiom. Nassar (2004) Globalization as an Enabler of Terror While terrorism aims to repel US-led globalization, it has concurrently harnessed globalization’s features in three primary ways, †¢ Through the exploitation of: new technologies. †¢ Global financial networks. †¢ reduced barriers to cross-border interactions Because of the above points modern transnational terrorism is and can be very dangerous. Globalization has enabled transnational terrorism through the exploitation of new technologies . Globalization age is known as the Information Revolution age , where revolution of computing , telecommunications and data – transfer took place . Making a proper use of these technological advancements such has internet , mobile phones and satellite telecommunications terrorist –related activities have increased their efficiency , coordination in operations , and communication between national and international borders. And it is only because of globalization features that terrorist activities or terrorism is no longer confined to a single nation or boundary but it now enjoys expanded range. It is also with the help of advance telecommunications network hat now transnational terrorist groups have defined there organizational structures , sharing principles of horizontal rather than vertical organizational structures. Transnational terrorists organizations are broadening their reach in financial resources too. They have global financing networks that include legal non-profit charities and businesses, as well as illegal activities such as drug smuggling and kidnapping. Kesselman , (2006) Globalization as an Obstacle to Counter-Terrorism Globalization have contributed a lot in the transnational terrorism with its new capabilities in all sectors , and this impedes the ability of nation-states to fight against terrorism effectively . The Existence of electronic commerce has weaken the abilities of the states to track , locate and prosecute the illegal activities in the cyber space and this has also played an important role in the effectiveness of the transnational terrorism. Even International institutions have not been up to the mark to promote international law and this has led to an increase in activities by transnational terrorist groups such as money laundering and arms trafficking which are considered as a criminal acts under international law.. In short , global law enforcement instruments have played little if any role in the fight against global terrorism Conclusion The relationship between globalization and transnational terrorism is one that has not been under consideration in current counter-terrorism efforts. When the characteristic of globalization can facilitates transnational terrorism, globalization can be used as a weapon against it. Therefore , its very necessary to first find out the relationship between globalization and terrorism before its too late . References : †¢ Nassar ,Jamal R. (2004). Globalization and Terrorism: The Migration of Dreams and Nightmares (Globalization (Lanham, MD. ). ). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. †¢ Mazru , Ali Alamin i , Kafrawi , Shalahudin and Sebuharara ,Ruzima (2004). Islam: Between Globalization & Counter-terrorism. Africa World Press. †¢ Stapley , Lionel (2006). Globalization and Terrorism: Death of a Way of Life. Karnac Books †¢ Combs , Cynthia C. (2005). Terrorism in the 21st Century (4th Edition). Prentice Hall. †¢ Kegley,Charles W. (2002). The New Global Terrorism: Characteristics, Causes, Controls. Prentice Hall. †¢ Baylis , John B,Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (2008). The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford University Press. †¢ Kesselman , Mark (2006). The Politics of Globalization: A Reader. Houghton Mifflin.

1.Where And When Was The Document Created What Is The

1. Where and when was the document created? What is the main idea being communicated by this document? The first document was created in 1830 by President Andrew Jackson in Washington D.C. The main idea that is being communicated is by having the Indians removed from their territory, would be beneficial to the United States, Individual States and to the Indians. The â€Å"savage Indians† will be moved more west so that the land can be occupied by a more civilized population. By doing so, this will also strengthen the frontier against future attacks and or invasions. By having them move out of Mississippi and the Western part of Alabama, these states will grow in wealth and power. The benefits that this would bring to the Indians is†¦show more content†¦Private Burnett states, â€Å"We had no choice in this matter.† 3. What was going on in the region when this was written? What was the context? Leading up to 1830, the white settlement in the trans-Appalachian west was sparse because a lot of the land was occupied by the Indians. The United States wanted to expand onto the land the Indians resided on. â€Å"During the 1820’s and 1830’s the estelusti and the Seminoles were allies in a series of wars against the Americans† (p206). False promises were given to the Indians letting them believe that they would be able to keep or stay on their land. For example, in Florida, the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, in 1823 the signers believed under false promises that they could keep their land but were moved from fertile land to the swamps of South Tampa. The â€Å"Five Civilized Tribes†- Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole had adopted many of the features of the surrounding white Southern society, because they were promised citizenship. 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