correspondent inference theory

a model describing how people form inferences about other people’s stable personality characteristics from observing their behaviors. Correspondence between behaviors and traits is more likely to be inferred if the actor is judged to have acted (a) freely, (b) intentionally, (c) in a way that is unusual for someone in the situation, and (d) in a way that does not usually bring rewards or social approval. See also attribution theory. [proposed in 1965 by U.S. social psychologists Edward E. Jones (1926–1993) and Keith E. Davis (1936– )]

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

November 18th 2024

center–surround antagonism

a characteristic of the receptive fields of many visual and somatosensory neurons in which stimulation in the center of the receptive field evokes opposite responses to stimulation in the periphery. Thus, some neurons depolarize with center stimulation and hyperpolarize when the same stimulus appears in the surrounding region of the receptive field, whereas other neurons have the opposite pattern of responses. Center–surround antagonism greatly increases the sensitivity of the nervous system to contrast. See also off response; on response; simple cell.