According to the sources consulted, it's interesting to note that one of the most outstanding features of human beings has always been their capacity to explain or infer the causes of events and behaviors present in their lives. These attributions are not always accurate. Several factors influence these attributions: life experiences, education, social culture... they are also influential when biases are present in these attributions.
In the previous article, I commented on the odyssey of using public transportation in Venezuela. The transportation system is so deficient that in general, the buses look like canned sardines on wheels, leaving no room for any kind of personal space. One of the most common events in this odyssey is theft. People are very crowded and pickpockets take advantage of the situation. If you dare to get on one of these transportation units, you must be aware of this situation and if you become a victim of theft, the guilty party "will be you". Logical, right? The reason is that defensive attribution is part of our culture, a tendency to blame the victims for their misfortune. If you got robbed on the bus, it's because you're a fool, how could you not notice?
Usually, when people are in extreme situations that they can't change, they even look for illogical reasons to live with it. And in this example, instead of standing in solidarity with the victim, it’s preferable to blame the victim as a fool instead of accepting that they are all prone to such experiences. Usually, the feeling of guilt (for something they are not really responsible for!) is so great that the victim prefers not to say anything rather than endure the mockery of people for how foolish he/she is, because "-You let yourself be robbed". Much less think about reporting it to the competent authorities, because they also make fun and in general, do not even take note.
Attributional tendencies refer to what do we attribute success, and to what do we attribute our personal failures. In my opinion, it’s likely that some cultures, due to their particular situations, adopt some tendencies to survive. I can't stop thinking about when the snake tricked our first parents. Eve blamed it on the serpent: - The serpent deceived me. And Adam defers the blame to Eve: - The woman you gave me ate and so I ate. Both of them making external attributions: - We are in trouble and we must survive!
Sometimes as teachers, we can make unfair attributions in the classroom. On one occasion, when I was beginning my teaching experience in a very humble school, I started my class and there was a very restless group that did not allow me to continue. My first thought was: These kids want to sabotage the class, they are probably lazy. But my maternal protocol urged me to approach them and ask what was going on. The lunchroom was out that day and they hadn't eaten lunch. They were hungry. They could hardly assimilate anything in if they were hungry. I asked them to wait for a few minutes and went out. There was a bakery across the street from the school and I bought some bread. I went back and waited for them to eat at least some bread. I lost half an hour of class, but I was able to give the rest of it without any inconvenience... and I earned them for the rest of the school year. What would have happened if I had stayed with the first impression?
References:
Attributional Tendencies in Cultures https://video.byui.edu/media/05+Attributional+Tendencies+in+Cultures/0_u45682wd
Attribution Processes https://wattersattribution.wordpress.com/
Attribution https://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/socialpsychology/section3/
Image by Briam Cute at Pixabay
In professional environments, we are encouraged to take in our hands the direction we can give to our career and the responsibility for our tasks although we have a structure to help us. In learning, every student has to understand that the major part of his/her improvement depends on himself/herself.
ResponderEliminar