Attributions

Making false attributions is something I feel we do all the time amongst ourselves. I can’t seem to remember the last time I did so and it exacerbated a conflict, but I do know there a certain situations where they come up in my daily life. For example, when me and my roommates place wagers on video games. When it comes to this situation no one wants to lose in the game or their money. So there are times when the loser, sometimes being myself, will say things like “you cheated” or “you only one because of….”. None of these has ever escalated into a serious conflict though. Another example is when two of my other roommates and I have a problem with our fourth roommates cleaning habits. Sometimes we give excuses like “he’s too hard headed to talk to” because we feel since he doesn’t clean after we tell him he must be. On the other hand I do believe there are times where attributions can be accurate and helpful at the same time. For example, when you notice someone is short tempered or gets angry quite fast. Sometimes in a situation like this one might feel that this person is very short tempered; therefore saying things like “I can’t work with you because you have no patience”.