Fundamental Atribution Error

Fundamental Attribution Error

One such explanatory error is the fundamental attribution error (FAE; Ross, 1977), the tendency to overestimate dispositional causes and underestimate situationalcauses in affecting others’ behavior.

People commonly underestimate the degree to which behavior is externally caused for two main reasons. First, “behavior engulfs the field” (Heider, 1958,
p. 54),with perception focused on people who stand out against situational backgrounds. Increasing perceptual focus on contextual information increases use of situational factors in attributions (Lassiter& Irvine, 1986).

According to Gilbert Harman, lay attributions of character traits “tend to be wildly incorrect” (1999:329) and are “often deeply misguided” (1999:316). Because the attribution ofhighly inaccurate character traits leads to “much evil”, he recommends, “we should try to educate ourselves and others to stop doing it” (Harman, 1999:315). Harman follows the lead provided byprominent social psychologists Ross and Nisbett (1991), in explaining the alleged inaccuracy of lay attributions of character or personality traits 2 by appeal to the effect of an allegedly pervasive errorin person perception. This is the “Fundamental Attribution Error” (henceforth FAE).

Ross and Nisbett (1991) would allow that, for example, if you know a person well, and know that they are disposedto behaving extremely courageously, then you can be warranted in predicting that they will exhibit courage in the long run over a broad range of situations. You are warranted in doing this, becauseyou are also warranted in inferring that they possess a relatively long-term stable disposition to act courageously. As we saw, Harman describes character traits as “relatively long-term stabledispositions to act in distinctive ways” (1999:317). So such a person possesses a character trait on Harman's own definition of what it is to possess a character trait. Despite what he says, Harman's case...