── ── Cognitive bias
Fundamental Attribution Error
The fundamental attribution error (FAE) is the systematic tendency to over-weight character factors and under-weight situational factors when explaining others' behavior — while reversing this for your own behavior (actor-observer asymmetry). Coined by Lee Ross (1977), grounded in Jones & Harris's 1967 Castro study. The bias is automatic (System 1); situational correction requires deliberate effort (System 2).
How it works
1. State the judgment — person, behavior, current explanation, decision dependent on it.
2. Categorize — dispositional (character/ability) vs. situational (context/constraints/incentives). If purely dispositional, FAE is likely.
3. Generate situational alternative — what situation would make this behavior rational? What would I do there? What does a situated expert think?
When to use it
- someone says 'they're just like that,' an employee is being blamed for underperformance without examining their situation, a post-mortem is focusing on who screwed up, customer churn is being written off as 'not the right fit,' or someone asks 'why did they do that?' with a character-based answer
When not to use it
the behavior forms a documented pattern across many genuinely different situations (dispositional inference is warranted); situational analysis is being used as a shield to excuse behavior that warrants accountability.
Worked example
Jones-Harris 1967 Castro Study + Ross 1977 Synthesis + Modern Applications
The Jones-Harris 1967 Castro study established the empirical foundation. The experimental design was clean: subjects were explicitly told whether essay authors had chosen or been assigned their position. Despite this clarity, subjects still attributed essay content to author belief. The bias persisted under conditions that should have eliminated it: clear assignment information, monetary incentive for accuracy, explicit instructions to consider situation.
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