Fundamental Attribution Error Explained! | Psychology 101

In this edition of Psychology 101, we are covering the Fundamental Attribution Error. This is a cognitive bias that affects the way in which we attribute explanations to the behaviors and actions of others.

This bias specifically refers to our tendency to overemphasize dispositional (or personality-based) explanations for the behaviors of others. For example, suppose during a football (or soccer) match, a player easily scores a goal on the goalkeeper from the opposing team. The scoring player will be more likely to infer that the goalie let in the goal because (s)he is a bad player (dispositional explanation), than to consider the probability that the goalie had the sun shine in their eyes which temporarily blinded them (situational explanation). It is this phenomenon that is referred to as the fundamental attribution error.

Reference:
Jones, E. E., & Harris, V. A. (1967). The Attribution of Attitudes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 3, 1–24. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(67)90034-0

Narrated by:
Michael Hörberg

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