Fundamental Attribution Error (HELP!, part 3)

It's one of the most pervasive cognitive errors in our human psychology. When we assess others, we overemphasise personality-based explanations and undervalue situational ones. If someone is late to a meeting, we assume it's because they're a lazy person, not because they were stuck in traffic. And vice versa - when we assess our own behaviour, we tend to discount the negatives based on circumstances outside of our control. When WE are late to a meeting, we know it's because our train was cancelled, not because we're an intentionally rude or disrespectful person. Looking at luck versus skill, when thigns go wrong for us it's because we were unlucky and when things go right it's because we worked hard. You can see this in all areas of life, and in this episode I'll share a few more examples of where the Fundamental Attribution Error can rear its ugly head.