Question:- What is the main point of the quizmaster study?
a. People will overlook obvious dispositional influences on their behavior.
b. People will attack other people by claiming situational influences are making them behave badly.
c. People will defend themselves by claiming situational influences changed their behavior.
d. People will overlook obvious situational influences on behavior.
Answer: c. People will defend themselves by claiming situational influences changed their behavior.
The focus of the quizmaster study is that individuals will argue circumstantial forces altered their actions.
The study participants were assigned roles as quizmasters and contestants. The quizmaster was told to set the tough questions and humiliate the contestant no matter how they perform. The participants were evaluated after the quiz in terms of their disposition and behavior during the test.
However, the significance of this finding was that contestants appeared to see their quizmaster as mean and unfair while rating themselves neutral for being frustrated. The contestants thus looked at the situation and not their individual characteristics as a source of reaction. This shows that people are inclined to give situational explanations detailing their negative behavior not due to indisposition, but rather the circumstances.
The research demonstrates people’s inclination to introducing self-serving biases when evaluating behavior. At times we blame our actions on something outside, in order to avoid taking responsibility for them. Examine the quizmaster study to find how fast people will ignore personality and disposition when they justify their behavior, attributing it solely on situations that make them act in a contrary nature . This cognitive bias allows us to preserve our self-image and redirects blame from ourselves in uncomfortable situations.
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