Why Psychology is so interesting
July 25, 2006One of the very basic psychological theories is the Theory of Attribution. A simple premise of this theory is that positive outcomes are attributed to a person’s own qualities, and negative outcomes to external factors, beyond the person’s own control. For example, when programming the VCR fails, it’s the VCR’s fault, the fault of the manual, but never the fault of the person trying to program the thing. However, when that person succeeds in programming that VCR, it is because of the person’s own abilities.
One learns this theory in Psychology in the first year.
And recently, I saw a perfect computing related example of this: the good quarterly financial results of Apple. Whenever Apple had bad results, and let’s face it, Apple has had some, it was attributed to externel factors, it was not Apple’s fault, etc. But now that Apple has had some really, really good results, it’s all because of how good Apple is!
You see, that is why Psychology is so interesting. I might have stopped the study, but I still see what I learned put in practice every day.
Apple is never at fault Thom, you are. This is from the Kellyan Theory.
Comment by Eugenia — July 25, 2006 @ 7:14 pm
:D
Comment by Administrator — July 25, 2006 @ 7:32 pm
Tom Cruise does not believe in your crazy science !
We need to get rid of the thetans to truly see clearly.
Look at the magic of the Earth on a summer day at the beach, or a snowball fight from a winter long past, and then tell me Xenu didn’t put those thetans around volcanoes and then blow up the volcanoes with hydrogen bombs and then capture the souls and brainwash them in a 3-D cinema for 36 days !
;-)
Comment by mikesum32 — July 27, 2006 @ 1:08 pm
Actually, it’s not the VCRs fault but the fault of the guy who designed the VCR. That’s what you learn in your first year of HCI :)
Comment by stew — July 28, 2006 @ 11:55 am