Overview
This lecture examines common attributional biases—errors in how we explain behavior—exploring their types, cultural differences, and implications for social judgment.
Fundamental Attribution Error & Correspondence Bias
- The fundamental attribution error is overestimating personal traits and underestimating situational factors when explaining others' behavior.
- The correspondence bias refers to attributing behaviors to internal traits even in situations with strong external constraints.
- People in Western cultures show these biases more than those in collectivistic (e.g., East Asian) cultures, who focus more on situational factors.
- Bicultural individuals may shift their attributions depending on cultural cues made salient.
- Media and individuals from different cultures often interpret the same events differently, focusing on internal or external causes based on cultural norms.
Actor-Observer Bias
- The actor-observer bias is the tendency to explain our own behavior with situational factors but others' behavior with internal traits.
- This bias is stronger for negative or undesirable behaviors.
- Trait ascription bias is viewing oneself as more variable and situationally influenced than others.
- Personal attributions are made more quickly and easily than situational attributions.
Self-Serving Biases
- Self-serving attributions help people see themselves positively, attributing successes to themselves and failures to the situation or others.
- This bias is less common in collectivistic cultures where self-enhancement is less emphasized.
- Attributions often reflect both causality and responsibility, influencing judgments of blame.
Group-Serving Biases
- The group-serving bias is attributing ingroup success to internal qualities and failures to external factors, while attributing the opposite to outgroups.
- Collectivist cultures display this less since they emphasize group harmony over self-enhancement.
- Group attribution error involves generalizing about all outgroup members based on a few cases or assuming individuals' attitudes match their group’s decisions.
Victim-Blaming Biases & Just World Hypothesis
- The just world hypothesis is believing the world is fair, leading to blaming victims for their misfortunes.
- Defensive attribution protects us from feeling vulnerable to bad outcomes or responsibility if victimized.
- Strong belief in a just world can reduce empathy and reinforce social inequality by blaming marginalized groups for their situations.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Fundamental Attribution Error — Overestimating personal factors and underestimating situations in explaining others' behavior.
- Correspondence Bias — Attributing behavior to internal traits even when external constraints exist.
- Actor-Observer Bias — Explaining our actions situationally but others’ actions by their traits.
- Trait Ascription Bias — Seeing oneself as more variable in behavior than others.
- Self-Serving Attributions — Explanations that maintain a positive self-image.
- Self-Serving Bias — Attributing personal success internally and failure externally.
- Group-Serving Bias — Favoring one's ingroup with positive attributions and outgroups with negative ones.
- Group Attribution Error — Generalizing outgroup traits from few observations or group decisions.
- Just World Hypothesis — Belief that people get what they deserve, leading to victim-blaming.
- Defensive Attribution — Explanations that protect oneself from being or feeling like a victim.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Reflect on personal experiences with attribution errors using the guided questions.
- Complete readings and activities related to attributional biases for deeper understanding.
- Apply these concepts in analyzing social interactions and current events for real-world practice.