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NARRATOR: Imagine you have an urgent task to complete
and you need to do it with your partner Betty.
But the problem is she's late, really late.
Your brain is quick to connect the dots.
She doesn't care.
She really lacks discipline.
Well, your brain just took a common shortcut
called the fundamental attribution error.
When witnessing another person's behavior leading
to a negative outcome, we tend to attribute that behavior
to their intrinsic nature while underestimating
situational factors.
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Because of the fundamental attribution error,
you now have a negative perception of Betty
and it further affects your judgment of Betty's actions.
Every mistake she makes now amplifies
that negative perception.
Because of that, you decide to handle your next project
all by yourself and end up working
very late to complete it.
The next morning your alarm clock
doesn't ring for some reason, plus there
were some delays commuting.
The result is you're late to work.
Apologizing to your boss, you feel guilty,
but there was nothing you could have done.
It's just one of those days where everything goes wrong.
You've just followed another brain shortcut
called the self-serving bias.
When we analyze our own behavior leading to a negative outcome,
we attribute it to situational factors instead
of our own intrinsic nature in order to see ourselves more
positively.
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Let's wrap up.
The fundamental attribution error
is when we attribute someone else's behavior
to their intrinsic nature because we lack information
about situational factors.
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On the other hand, we tend to attribute our own behavior
to external factors in order to protect our self-esteem.
The important takeaway is that they are
both subjective attributions.
Looking at both intrinsic and external factors
is key to learn and grow.
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