Now listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class.
Professor: So we encounter this in life all the time, but many of us are unaware that we do this ...even psychologists who study it. . . like me. For example, the other day I was at the store and I was getting in line to buy something. But just before I was actually in line, some guy comes out of nowhere and cuts right in front of me. Well, I was really annoyed and thought, “That was rude!” I assumed he was just a selfish, inconsiderate person when, in fact, I had no idea why he cut in line in front of me or whether he even realized he was doing it. Maybe he didn't think I was actually in line yet. .. But my immediate reaction was to assume he was a selfish or rude person.
OK, so a few days after that, I was at the store again. Only this time I was in a real hurry—I was late for an important meeting—and I was frustrated that everything was taking so long. And what's worse, all the checkout lines were long, and it seemed like everyone was moving so slowly. But then I saw a slightly shorter line! But some woman with a lot of stuff to buy was walking toward it, so I basically ran to get there first, before her, and, well, I did. Now, I didn’t think of myself as a bad or rude person for doing this. I had an important meeting to get to —I was in a hurry, so, you know, I had done nothing wrong.
Explain how the two examples discussed by the professor illustrate differences in the ways people explain behavior.
In the listening material, the professor talks about differences in the ways people explain behavior. According to him, people may explain their own behavior differently from how they account for the behavior of others. He used two examples to explain his points. In the first example, when he was getting in line to buy something, someone came out suddenly and cut right in front of him. He was annoyed and assumed this person was a selfish and rude person. In the second example, the speaker was at the same place again. This time he was in a hurry and couldn’t afford long wait. However, all the check out lines were long. Then he saw a slightly shorter line. A woman with a lot of purchases was walking toward it. The speaker ran quickly to get there first so as to stand before the woman. This time he didn’t think himself as a bad or rude person for doing this.
