The fundamental attribution error (FAE) refers to the tendency to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors when judging others' behavior.
Also known as correspondence bias or attribution effect.
Key Concepts
Overemphasis on Personal Characteristics: Believing others do bad things because they are inherently bad people.
Underemphasis on Situational Factors: Ignoring external circumstances that may influence behavior.
Examples
Traffic Incident: If someone cuts us off, we might think "what a jerk," ignoring possible reasons (e.g., rushing to the airport).
Self-Justification: When we cut someone off, we justify it by situational needs (e.g., late to a meeting) rather than considering how this reflects on our character.
Research Findings
Study Results:
When something bad happens to another person, subjects blamed the individual's behavior/personality 65% of the time.
When something bad happened to themselves, subjects blamed personal factors only 44% of the time and situational factors more frequently.
Implications
FAE often leads to judging others more harshly while excusing our own unethical behaviors by focusing on situational justifications.
It highlights a bias in rationalizing personal actions versus those of others.