Give three examples of when you have seen (or experienced) the self-serving attributional bias, in yourself or others. Do you think that this bias was beneficial in each case? Maladaptive?

PSYC341 Memory and Cognition

Week 7 Discussion

Choose one of the topics below to use for this discussion.  Please make sure your initial post is 2-3 paragraphs in length.  Feel free to use supporting documentation (other resources) as well.

Option 1

Give three examples of when you have seen (or experienced) the self-serving attributional bias, in yourself or others. Do you think that this bias was beneficial in each case? Maladaptive?

Option 2

Think about one time that you have recently experienced an emotion. Describe the situation, and list three or more aspects that characterize this situation as being emotional. Did the emotion help the situation, or hurt it? Was the emotion useful, or was it a hindrance?

Option 3

How do you think you could use mood-congruent memory (MCM) or mood-dependent memory (MDM) to improve memory in your own life (in school, in your job, with your family, etc.)?

Option 4

Can you think of a time when you paid attention to negative cues in your environment because of a fear you have (e.g., if you are afraid of stink bugs, you will notice them before anyone else)? Describe the situation. Would you say that it was intentional, or that your attention was on “autopilot” without your conscious awareness? If you have not experienced this, have you ever noticed another bias toward features in your environment that is not negative (e.g., you really like blue eyes and notice eye color immediately when introduced to new people)?

Option 5

You read about three different theories of emotion this week (James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schacter-Singer). Briefly describe each one, and then opine as to the one you feel resonates best with your thoughts and experience.