Questions
Briefly describe the setting. How many people are in this conversation? How many are male/female? Are they friends, family or coworkers etc.? IMPORTANT: Make sure to tell me who the person NOT PRESENT is. You can provide their name, an alias, or a brief description (boyfriend, cousin, co-worker, etc.). The people / person(s) present should be discussing the person who is absent, so I need a little info about both
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2. Briefly describe the event you were discussing that led your friend(s)/family to make attributions (if there are many events, just focus on one)
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3. Does your conversation partner(s) seem to be making dispositional or situational attributions? First, define what you mean by dispositional or situational (what does it mean!). Second, describe their actual attribution in detail. That is, how did they describe the behavior of this missing person? Third, tell me WHY you think it was dispositional or situational. (9 points). This is an important one worth 9 points, so be specific!
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4. What happens when you suggest the opposite attribution (if THEY focus on a dispositional attribution, then YOU suggest a situational attribution, or vice versa)?
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5-. What kinds of “proof” do they offer to support their attribution? You can cheat a bit here and point out some similar items from #3 and #4 above, but only if they use it as proof
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6. Now tell them about the assignment, and see if they agree or disagree with your insights. Make sure to explain the concepts of dispositional and situational attributions to them. Do they think they tend to engage in one or the other more often? Why?
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