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Distinguishing the effects of beliefs and preconditions: the folk psychology of goals and actions
Author(s) -
Boonzaier Ann,
McClure John,
Sutton Robbie M.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.280
Subject(s) - attribution , psychology , folk psychology , action (physics) , possession (linguistics) , social psychology , epistemology , cognitive science , linguistics , physics , quantum mechanics , philosophy
Two studies examined lay people's understanding of goals and intentional actions, which are key concepts in folk psychology. The studies show how predictions of goals and actions are affected by actors' beliefs about their abilities and their actual possession of the preconditions required for the actions. In some conditions, the beliefs and the preconditions were contradictory. Actors' beliefs about their abilities shaped observers' goal ascriptions, whereas actual preconditions dominated predictions about action accomplishment. Participants judged the relationship between goals and actions to be stronger when preconditions were present. Participants judged that neither beliefs nor preconditions were necessary for the actor to have action fantasies. These studies clarify how folk psychological concepts of desires, beliefs, and preconditions relate to each other and how they relate to attributions of goals and actions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.