Why Do Pollsters Interview Random People Throughout the Country When

question 8

Essay

Why do pollsters interview random people throughout the country when trying to project which candidate will win a presidential election?

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Definitions:

Situational Cause

An explanation for behavior or an event that attributes the cause to external factors in the environment or specific situations.

Dispositional Cause

Attributions of behavior to personal characteristics or dispositions rather than situational factors.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behaviors.

Actor-Observer Bias

A cognitive bias where individuals attribute their own actions to situations and others' actions to their personalities.