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The fundamental attribution error (also known as correspondence bias or over-attribution effect) is the tendency for people to over-emphasize dispositional or personality-based explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing situational explanations.
In other words, people have acognitive biasto assume that a person’s actions depend on what “kind” of person that person is rather than on the social and environmental forces that influence the person.
We tend to see others as internally motivated and responsible for their behavior. This could be because of perceptual salience, that is, the other person is what we see most of when we look at them, or it could be that we lack more detailed information about what causes their behavior.
Example
Perhaps the saddest example of the tendency to make internal attributions, whether they are warranted or not, is blaming the victim.
If giving someone our sympathy or blaming the true culprit somehow causes us dissonance, we may hold the victim responsible for his or her own pain and suffering. “He had it coming” and “she was asking for it” are all-too-common phrases!
Empirical Evidence
Participants listened to pro- and anti-Fidel Castro speeches. Participants were asked to rate the pro-Castro attitudes of the speakers. When the subjects believed that the speakers freely chose the positions they took (for or against Castro), they naturally rated the people who spoke in favor of Castro as having a more positive attitude toward Castro.
Critical Evaluation
This finding is consistent with the theory that some countries, like the U.S., emphasize anindividualistic self-concept. Raised in a society that places a premium on individual achievement and uniqueness, Americans seem to develop a tendency to focus on the characteristics of the individual in making attributions.
References
Jones, E. E., & Harris, V. A. (1967). The attribution of attitudes.Journal of experimental social psychology, 3(1), 1-24.
Miller, J. G. (1984). Culture and the development of everyday social explanation.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(5), 961–978.
Ross, L. (1977). The Intuitive Psychologist And His Shortcomings: Distortions in the Attribution Process1. InAdvances in experimental social psychology(Vol. 10, pp. 173-220). Academic Press.
Further InformationTarget Article: “The Really FundamentalAttribution Error in Social Psychological Research”
Further Information
Target Article: “The Really FundamentalAttribution Error in Social Psychological Research”
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
