Fundamental Attribution Error I

Researchers have found that when explaining "negative" or unpleasant behaviours, we reveal a bias in our causal attributions. Specifically, when we have done something with unpleasant consequences, we make an external or situational attribution about our own behaviour. But when another person has done the unfortunate thing, we more readily make internal or dispositional attributions about his or her behaviour.

Fundamental Attribution Error
When we are trying to understand and explain what happens in social settings, we tend to view behavior as a particularly significant factor. We then tend to explain behavior in terms of internal disposition, such as personality traits, abilities, motives, etc. as opposed to external situational factors.

This can be due to our focus on the person more than their situation, about which we may know very little. We also know little about how they are interpreting the situation.

Western culture exacerbates this error, as we emphasize individual freedom and autonomy and are socialized to prefer dispositional factors to situational ones.

When we are playing the role of observer, which is largely when we look at others, we make this fundamental attribution error. When we are thinking about ourselves, however, we will tend to make situational attributions.

Research
Edward Jones and Victor Harris (1967) asked people to assess a person’s pro- or anti-Castro feelings given an essay a person had written. Even when the people were told the person had been directed to write pro- or anti- arguments, the people still assumed the author believed what they were writing.

Example
I assume you have not done much today because you are lazy, rather than perhaps tired or lack the right resources.

Application
Beware of people blaming you for things outside of your control. Also watch out for people doing it to you. You can make friends and build trust when individuals are blamed by others, by showing that you understand how it is not to do with their personality.

Watch how others make attributions. When they seem to go against the trend and be in your favor, be curious about their motives.

Identifying The Fundamental Attribution Error
This tendency to underestimate situational influences and overestimate disposition error (FAE). We are more likely to commit the FAE when explaining others' behaviour than our own. We seem to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and blame uncontrollable circumstances when our own actions have been wrong or unsuccessful. In contrast, we are quicker to blame others for intending the harm or deserving the failure that results from similar actions.

For example, if a driver veers into your lane of traffic and forces you to brake suddenly, you might become angry because he or she is such a "terrible driver". But if you veer into someone's lane and he or she angrily blares the horn at you, you might reassure yourself that "I had no choice, the weather is so bad, I couldn't see the other car, and it shouldn't have been moving so fast anyway". Thus you attibute another's driving to his or her disposition("bad driver") but your own to your situation ("bad weather, low visibility"). This is the FAE in action. It is called "fundamental" because it can affect our attitudes and actions, such as how stressed we become in traffic and how aggressive or considerate we are to other drivers.



The Hidden Meaning Of The Twelve Days Of Christmas

The HIDDEN meaning of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and the secret behind the song:

People often think of The Twelve Days of Christmas as the days preceding the festival. Actually, Christmas is a season of the Christian Year that last for days beginning December 25 and lasting until January 6- the Day of Epiphany. When the church celebrates the revelation of Christ as the light of the world and recalls the journey of the Magi.

From 1558 until 1829 Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. During that era someone wrote 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without risk of persecution.

The song has two levels of interpretation: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the church. Each element in the carol is a code word for a religious reality. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love. The four calling birds are the four Gospels. The five gold rings recall the torah (Law) the first five books of the Old Testament. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation. Seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes. Nine ladies dancing These are the nine fruits of the Spirit (Gal.5). The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments. Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the 12 points of belief in the Apostles Creed.