Understanding Attribution Errors- A Key to Human Perception and Behavior
Humans are meaning-making beings, and psychologists are interested in understanding and explaining behavior and how humans strive to comprehend and explain behavior. This process is referred to as attribution. The ways people explain behavior and the mistakes they make while doing so might be as insightful as the behavior. One of the most common ways humans do this is through the fundamental attribution error, also called attribution error. Notably, it is termed fundamental because it is shared by almost all human beings across all cultures.
Attribution error is a cognitive bias that involves attributing positive behavior or successes to internal characteristics (characterologically) while underestimating the influence of external factors and attributing failures contextually or to external factors (Sue et al., 2022). For instance, if I were to pass an exam, I would most likely attribute that success to my hard work and dedication rather than to external factors like having a good teacher or other adequate resources provided by the school.
On the other hand, when it comes to the behavior of others, attribution errors lead us to do vice versa, meaning that their success or positive behavior is attributed to external factors (contextually) and failures or harmful behavior to internal factors (character logically) (Sue et al., 2022). For instance, if someone behaves inappropriately in a social situation, individuals might attribute this behavior to the person’s character (e.g., “they’re just a rude person”) rather than considering external factors that could have influenced their behavior (e.g., they had a stressful day or were responding to a perceived threat). Attribution error is a cognitive bias that leads people to overemphasize the role of personality or disposition when it comes to themselves and to underestimate the impact of situational factors when explaining the behavior of others.
References
Sue, D. W., Sue, D., Neville, H. A., & Smith, L. (2022). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons.
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attribution errors. Summarize and discuss attribution errors. Sue et al references please chapter 11.
Understanding Attribution Errors- A Key to Human Perception and Behavior