The Fundamental Attribution Error: Definition and Author
A fundamental attribution error is that one tends to form a judgment about the behavior of others based on the characteristics of the individual but without considering the overall situation. This creates a bias that an individual’s actions are far more influenced by psychological characteristics than by the circumstances of the environment than is the case.
This phenomenon was studied and described in detail by the scientist Lee Ross in 1977 (Stalder, 2018). The researcher revealed the mechanisms of this error based on many examples from society.
The Application of the Theory to the Real Life
The most famous situation, based on which it is customary to reveal the essence of this psychological concept, is the failure of students in the curriculum. Often, teachers and fellow students have the preconception that a person is a poor student because of personal qualities, including laziness and disorganization (Stalder, 2018). However, factors such as stress, depression, or illness are underestimated. Attribution error contributes greatly to the eventual development of stereotypes, often paying attention to the psyche of their subjects.
The Application of the Theory to the Police Work
Such biases arise largely due to insufficient cognitive resources to assess the external factors that determine human behavior. Understanding the mechanism of fundamental attribution error is an important part of police work (Dong, 2022). The investigator needs to be able to distinguish between intrinsic motivations and actions caused solely by extrinsic factors. Hence, for example, seeing a person looking around may suggest they are confused in an unfamiliar place (Dong, 2022).
Nevertheless, the police officer should have an additional scenario in mind, suggesting that the passerby might be trying to escape from the perpetrators (Ross, 2018). Therefore, non-verbal displays such as gestures, facial expressions, gait, and pupil movement should be carefully monitored. If these signs hint at fear, stopping the person and talking to them makes sense. Consequently, it is not so valuable to be able to detach oneself from conviction as to find the moral and cognitive resources to monitor a situation significant to the work from both sides.
There have been instances in my practice where I deliberately allowed myself to make an attributive error and ended up helping a person. Once, outside a police station, I saw a girl filing a report of possible cell phone theft. Most people assumed that the victim was untidily dressed because she was the victim of a mugger who had soiled and torn her clothes during the attack. Therefore, we assumed that the external factor was the main one, but I suggested that this woman had a deviant lifestyle and needed social help. After some time, it turned out that the victim had been experiencing serious problems with alcohol for a year, had been practically evicted from her house, and had a serious psychological disorder.
This experience made me realize that both scenarios must be analyzed and tested equally. Since being aware of the fundamental attribution error, I have not made significant errors in my judgments. This way of thinking allows people to judge the behavior of others, taking into account their personality, and it has many secondary benefits. They help to form a stable opinion of a situation more quickly, to remove doubt, and to develop a comfortable sense of entitlement. Nevertheless, in a global sense, this kind of error is a significant source of bias and prejudice in contemporary society.
References
Dong, P. (2022). Explaining the Unexplained: Situational Differences in Fundamental Attribution Error. International Journal of Social Science Research, 10(2), 210. Web.
Ross, L. (2018). From the Fundamental Attribution Error to the Truly Fundamental Attribution Error and Beyond: My Research Journey. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(6), 750–769. Web.
Stalder, D. R. (2018). The power of context: How to manage our bias and improve our understanding of others. Prometheus Books.