Читать книгу Social Psychology - Daniel W. Barrett - Страница 50

It almost goes without saying that people differ in how they construe or interpret situations. One student may construe an upcoming oral presentation as terribly threatening, whereas another could view it as a chance to show off her oratorical skills. Our construal of situations affects many aspects of our social experiences, including how we judge others and explain their behavior (Fujita & Carnevale, 2012; L. Ross & Nisbett, 1991; Trope & Liberman, 2012). A study of how football fans perceived the events in a contentious 1951 football game between Princeton University and Dartmouth College nicely illustrates this (Hastorf & Cantril, 1954). Hastorf and Cantril queried both Princeton and Dartmouth fans about their perceptions of how fairly and cleanly the game was played. Not surprisingly, the way the fans interpreted the behavior of the players on the two teams depended on which team they favored. For instance, the Princeton fans claimed that the Dartmouth players committed more than twice as many rule violations as the Dartmouth fans thought they did (Hastorf & Cantril, 1954). According to Hastorf and Cantril, the motivations of the Princeton and Dartmouth fans—with each preferring to see their team as fairer than the opponents—led to divergent interpretations of the game. In fact, these researchers argued that the fans essentially watched different football games! Throughout this text we will examine the myriad ways in which our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are often profoundly influenced by our construal of social situations. Have you and one of your friends ever construed the same situation in very different ways?