Attributions- Chapter 12

I have made false attributions a lot while texting. In a text message you are not able to see the person’s facial expressions, read their body language, or hear the tone of their voice. This has caused me to assume things that were not necessarily true. I have a friend that can be pretty blunt at times which causes me to believe she is mad at me. Usually I am able to tell her mood by her facial expressions or the way she says things. However, when we are texting it is much more difficult to tell if she is simply stating something, or being rude. Back in high school I was much more sensitive then I am now. Sometimes when her and I would text, I could not figure out if she was upset with me or not and my feelings would get really hurt. I just assumed that she was angry at me for something and felt terrible about it. Later, I learned that was just the way she communicated and to not be so sensitive about things.

Sometimes at work I make accurate attributions that help me. I work in cosmetics and in my department; we sell several different makeup brands, much like a Sephora. Philosophy is an expensive skin care line so usually the women looking at the Philosophy products spend more money than other customers. Knowing this, I try to be as knowledgeable and helpful as possible, in hopes that I can persuade the customer to purchase more products. I am helpful to every customer that walks into my department, but I have learned that women who shop for Philosophy products want that expert product knowledge and are more willing to spend money.