The way that we think of ourselves and how we think others see us is often a metric for explanations of our own actions and behaviors. For instance, let’s say that you are in line at Dunkin Donut’s (Starbucks, if you prefer). You are feeling impatient because you have to get to work and you can’t be late because you have a meeting with your manager when you arrive and you feel that you need coffee (or a doughnut) in order to function properly and make a good impression. You feel like you are waiting and waiting and eventually you snap at the worker behind the counter because it is taking too long for you order to arrive. Clearly, not your best day. But, you are you, and you know that you are a good person who is funny, caring, intelligent and trustworthy and that snapping at the worker is not an true indicator of who you are as a person or what your character is. You know that it is the situation at hand that was the cause of that particular ‘bad’ behavior, not you as a person. However, the other people in line do not know you!!! When we interpret our own behavior (and those who we know well, like our friends), we often give ourselves leeway and blame the situation as the cause of the ‘one time’ bad behavior, this is called situational bias. However, when we see someone we don’t know in line snapping at the worker behind the counter, we may say any or all of the following: they are a mean person, a rude person, a jerk, or incredibly disrespectful of the worker. We have a tendency to attribute their behavior to who they are as a person, their personality, which is often stable and does not change. This is called dispositional bias. Together, these account for the psychological phenomena of Fundamental Attributional Error. We judge others’ ‘bad’ or ‘questionable’ behavior based on assumptions of their personality or disposition and we judge our own ‘bad’ or ‘questionable’ behavior based on the situation at hand, not on our own character. And the less we know about the other person or the more different we think they are from us, the more likely we are to interpret the behavior in a dispositional manner. For this activity, think of a time that you used Situational Bias to explain your behavior or a friend’s ‘not so great’ behavior and Dispositional Bias to explain a ‘not so great’ behavior that you observed from a stranger. Finally, think about why it is important that we are aware of how we attribute the behaviors of ourselves and of others. What is another way that you could have interpreted the behavior that you saw? Question: Part 1 Think of a time that you used Situational Bias to explain your behavior or a friend’s ‘not so great’ behavior. Explain what happened below. Was you explanation about your own (or friend's) behavior automatic? Did you assume others would understand your situation and not judge your character? Part 2 Think of a time that you used Dispositional Bias to explain a ‘not so great’ behavior that you observed from a stranger. Explain what happened below. Was your assumption about why they did what they did automatic? Did you think twice before making a judgement on their character? Part 3 Why it is important that we are aware of how we attribute the behaviors of ourselves and of others. What is another way that you could have interpreted the stranger's behavior?
The way that we think of ourselves and how we think others see us is often a metric for explanations of our own actions and behaviors.
For instance, let’s say that you are in line at Dunkin Donut’s (Starbucks, if you prefer). You are feeling impatient because you have to get to work and you can’t be late because you have a meeting with your manager when you arrive and you feel that you need coffee (or a doughnut) in order to function properly and make a good impression. You feel like you are waiting and waiting and eventually you snap at the worker behind the counter because it is taking too long for you order to arrive. Clearly, not your best day. But, you are you, and you know that you are a good person who is funny, caring, intelligent and trustworthy and that snapping at the worker is not an true indicator of who you are as a person or what your character is. You know that it is the situation at hand that was the cause of that particular ‘bad’ behavior, not you as a person. However, the other people in line do not know you!!!
When we interpret our own behavior (and those who we know well, like our friends), we often give ourselves leeway and blame the situation as the cause of the ‘one time’ bad behavior, this is called situational bias. However, when we see someone we don’t know in line snapping at the worker behind the counter, we may say any or all of the following: they are a mean person, a rude person, a jerk, or incredibly disrespectful of the worker. We have a tendency to attribute their behavior to who they are as a person, their personality, which is often stable and does not change. This is called dispositional bias. Together, these account for the psychological phenomena of Fundamental Attributional Error. We judge others’ ‘bad’ or ‘questionable’ behavior based on assumptions of their personality or disposition and we judge our own ‘bad’ or ‘questionable’ behavior based on the situation at hand, not on our own character. And the less we know about the other person or the more different we think they are from us, the more likely we are to interpret the behavior in a dispositional manner.
For this activity, think of a time that you used Situational Bias to explain your behavior or a friend’s ‘not so great’ behavior and Dispositional Bias to explain a ‘not so great’ behavior that you observed from a stranger. Finally, think about why it is important that we are aware of how we attribute the behaviors of ourselves and of others. What is another way that you could have interpreted the behavior that you saw?
Question:
Part 1
Think of a time that you used Situational Bias to explain your behavior or a friend’s ‘not so great’ behavior. Explain what happened below. Was you explanation about your own (or friend's) behavior automatic? Did you assume others would understand your situation and not judge your character?
Part 2
Think of a time that you used Dispositional Bias to explain a ‘not so great’ behavior that you observed from a stranger. Explain what happened below. Was your assumption about why they did what they did automatic? Did you think twice before making a judgement on their character?
Part 3
Why it is important that we are aware of how we attribute the behaviors of ourselves and of others. What is another way that you could have interpreted the stranger's behavior?
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