Attributions + Cognitive Biases

Social cognition

how we interpret, analyse, remember and use information to make judgments about others in different social situations.

Attribution:

an evaluation made about the causes of behaviour and the process of making this evaluation.

Internal/Personal attribution

when we judge behaviour as being caused by something personal within an individual

External/Situational attribution

When we determine the cause of a behaviour as resulting from situational factors occurring outside the individual

Fundamental attribution error

our tendency to explain other people's behaviour in terms of internal factors, while ignoring possible external factors.

Cognitive Biases

Unconscious, systematic tendencies to interpret information in a way that is neither rational nor based on objective reality.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute positive success to our internal character and actions and attribute our failures to external factors or situational causes.