Define the two attributional tendencies that can distort one's interpretation of observed behavior—fundamental attribution bias and self-serving bias—and provide an example of each

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Fundamental attribution bias: In fundamental attribution bias, people attribute another person's behavior to his or her personal characteristics rather than to situational factors. Example: A study of manufacturing employees found that top managers attributed the cause of industrial back pain to individuals, whereas workers attributed it to the environment.

? Self-serving bias: In self-serving bias, people tend to take more personal responsibility for success than for failure. Example: The way students typically analyze their performance on exams shows self-serving bias. Students who typically receive As are likely to attribute their grade to high ability or hard work, and students who typically receive Ds blame factors such as bad luck, unclear lectures, and unfair testing. Another example: Europeans blamed Wall Street for the 2010 economic collapse in Greece. However, a Wall Street Journal article points out that a close look at Greece's finances "over the nearly 10 years since it adopted the euro shows not only that Greece was the principal author of its debt problems, but also that fellow European governments repeatedly turned a blind eye to its flouting of rules."