locus of stability

attribution of the causes of an event sources that are constant and unlikely to change over time or to sources that are dynamic and subject to variability over time, which may influence a person’s subsequent behavior in relation to that event. For example, a supervisor who believes that an employee unexpectedly absent from a recent meeting will also miss future meetings may reprimand the person, whereas a supervisor who believes the absence is not likely to be habitual may overlook the indiscretion. [proposed in 1979 by U.S. social psychologist Bernard Weiner (1935– )]

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

mental chemistry

a concept proposed by John Stuart Mill as an alternative to the mental mechanics described by his father, James Mill. The concept is modeled on a common phenomenon in physical chemistry, in which two chemical substances combine to form a compound with properties not present in either of the components. Similarly, Mill held that compound ideas were not merely combinations of simpler ideas but that they possessed other qualities not present in any of the constituent ideas. Thus, such an idea could be an essentially new one. See associationism; association of ideas.