Understanding Fundamental Attribution Error in Social Psychology

Fundamental attribution error is a cognitive bias that influences social relationships by causing people to attribute others' actions to personality traits rather than circumstances, but therapeutic interventions focusing on emotional intelligence and social awareness can help individuals develop more balanced perspectives and healthier interpersonal connections.

Ever notice how quick we are to judge others as 'inconsiderate' while defending our own similar actions? This common mental pattern, known as the fundamental attribution error, shapes how we view ourselves and others – but understanding it can transform your relationships and lead to deeper empathy.

What Is Fundamental Attribution Error, And Why Does It Matter?

The fundamental attribution error (FAE) is a type of cognitive bias called an attributional bias that can change how a person perceives the actions of those around them. Social psychologists have heavily studied the FAE since the late 1960s. It can be extremely common, and nearly everyone has experienced the FAE as both the “biaser” and “biasee.” The FAE can impact a person’s social interactions, and it may be present when interacting with friends, co-workers, and family. Cognitive biases, including the FAE, are not usually conscious processes. Biases tend to occur without the person actively considering their own thoughts or perceptions, and it can take a proactive approach to mitigate the effects of the FAE. Working with a licensed clinical social worker through telehealth therapy can be one part of this proactive approach.

Understanding Attribution Theory in Mental Health

People’s attributions tend to describe how they define their and others’ locus of causality. In this term, “locus” refers to either an internal or external factor, and “causality” refers to the cause or source of a person’s behavior. In essence, a person’s attributions can determine if they hold the person themselves responsible for a particular behavior (internal locus) or hold an outside circumstance responsible (external locus).

How Attribution Theory Shapes Our Relationships

Consider the following two examples of colleagues working in the same office:

Mark is frequently late to team meetings because he often forgets to set reminders and loses track of time.

Sarah is frequently late to team meetings because she must coordinate childcare with an unreliable provider.

Both Mark and Sarah are going to be late to meetings, but how others perceive their tardiness is likely to change considerably based on the circumstances. For example, team members might be more understanding of Sarah, as they attribute her lateness to an external locus of causality. Essentially, colleagues don’t consider her personally responsible for being late.

Mark, on the other hand, may face more judgment. Without an external circumstance to explain his delays, his colleagues are more likely to attribute an internal locus of causality. They may consider him personally responsible and blame internal factors, such as his personality or lack of consideration for others’ time.

As you can see, attributions can shift considerably based on the situation and the context of a person’s behavior. However, our brains tend to make attributions constantly, regardless of how much of a situation’s context is known to us. It’s rare for anyone to know all pieces of information relative to a situation, and the human brain usually attempts to fill in the gaps by biasing the information it does have.

Attributional Bias in Daily Life

Attributional biases are cognitive biases that can impact a person’s attributions. Cognitive biases are usually unconscious deviations from pure rational judgment and decision-making. While this may seem like a deficit, imagine a world in which your brain must carefully consider every judgment or decision. The process would likely be extremely slow. If information about a situation were unavailable, your brain might not be able to reach a conclusion at all.

Mental Shortcuts in Decision Making

For this reason, cognitive biases are often referred to as heuristics. Heuristics are a form of mental shortcut. They are usually defined as guidelines our brains use to make decisions quickly. Heuristics are normally part of a person’s gut judgment and intuition. Before you can reach an informed and rational conclusion about a situation, you have likely already reached a gut judgment using the information already apparent to you.

When you make a gut decision or judgment, your brain may be filling in missing pieces of information with what it assumes is likely. This process is often called biasing because the brain assigns a higher weight (bias) to things it assumes to be accurate, while assigning a lower weight to things it considers less likely to be true. Note the use of the word “assumes.” The brain is normally making its best guess, and it is not always accurate, which can result in errors in judgment stemming from attributional bias.

Over-emphasizing Personal Characteristics While Ignoring Situational Factors

The fundamental attribution error can be an extremely common error in judgment that usually comes from assigning attributions to a person’s behavior before all of the facts surrounding their behavior are known. The FAE refers to any individual’s tendency to attribute the actions of others to an internal locus of causality while attributing their own actions to an external locus of causality.

Fundamental Attribution Error in Action

Put another way, we’re more likely to cut ourselves a break when judging our own behavior and hold others personally responsible when judging theirs. Think back to the example of Sarah and Mark given above. Both frequently arrive late to meetings, but Sarah has an external factor that gives her an excuse, or a way to reduce her accountability. Mark doesn’t have a good reason and is more likely to be held accountable for being late.

In that example, the circumstances of Mark and Sarah’s tardiness were clearly described, but what if no context was available regarding their situations? If the only information colleagues have is that Mark and Sarah are frequently late, they are likely to hold each equally accountable. The fundamental attribution error tells us this may be because colleagues, absent any other information, are more likely to attribute an internal locus of causality than an external one.

The Self-Serving Bias

What if those same colleagues were also frequently late to meetings? While it may seem like they have added perspective that could change their judgment of Sarah and Mark, the FAE tells us that they may be more likely to find a reason to give themselves leniency. They may “bias” their perception of their circumstances and pay closer attention to context that could excuse their own lateness while overlooking possible external factors affecting others.

Strategies for Overcoming the Fundamental Attribution Error

Combatting our errors in attributions doesn’t usually require an in-depth analysis of our biases. Mental health professionals at ReachLink suggest that improving emotional intelligence can be critical, rather than trying to shift unconscious processes, like heuristics, to the conscious domain. Your brain may still need to think quickly, and improving emotional intelligence can help you assign less weight to the internal factors of others and increase the importance given to external factors. Emotional intelligence typically consists of four separate domains: self-awareness, self-control, social awareness, and social skills.

Self-awareness

Awareness of our current emotional state can be necessary for the next component of emotional intelligence, self-control. Self-awareness is normally defined as a person’s ability to understand and identify their own emotional reactions. Few people are likely to be surprised by the fact that a person in a bad mood may be more likely to assign negative attributions, and a person in a good mood may be likely to assign positive attributions.

Self-regulation

Self-regulation can help a person put the brakes on their heuristic thinking when necessary. While heuristics can be helpful guidelines, it is often required to stop our reactions and consider the circumstances. Even if we don’t have all the information regarding a specific situation, we can consciously assign a positive attribution.

Social Awareness

Social awareness generally refers to a person’s ability to perceive the emotional state of others. This can be distinct from empathizing with a person. An individual who is socially aware may understand how another person is actually feeling in the given situation, not how they themselves would feel if they were in the same situation.

Social Skills

Basic social skills, like making requests, influencing others, and managing conflicts, can all be impacted by a person’s attributions. Maintaining good social skills can create an environment conducive to giving information and make it easier for the context of a situation to diffuse negative attributions.

Some people are prone to overly negative attributions. Building confidence and self-esteem can defend against overly biased attributions from others, as well as help you manage your own attributions.

How Telehealth Therapy Can Help

Many people struggle to find the time to attend therapy sessions, and telehealth therapy with ReachLink may be one way to solve that problem. If you find yourself frequently making judgments about others without considering the full context, speaking with a licensed clinical social worker can help you explore these unconscious biases. Telehealth allows for flexible scheduling and the comfort of engaging in therapy from your own space, making the process more accessible and less intimidating.

Through therapy, you can work on increasing your emotional intelligence, which is essential for overcoming the fundamental attribution error. Developing greater self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and social skills can enhance your relationships and reduce misinterpretations of others’ behaviors. This not only improves personal interactions but also supports your overall mental health and well-being.

Understanding and addressing the fundamental attribution error is a crucial step toward fostering empathy, reducing conflict, and improving communication in all areas of life. By cultivating greater awareness of how our minds make quick judgments, we open the door to more compassionate and accurate perceptions of others, ultimately leading to healthier and more supportive social environments.