Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to overestimate person-related factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining someone else’s behavior.
- Ex: A classmate never speaks in class and is judged shy, when he works nights and is exhausted.
- Ex: A cashier is short with a customer and is judged rude, when she is in the ninth hour of her shift.
- Ex: A friend does not text back for two days and is judged done with the friendship, when her phone was cut off.
Last updated: September 27, 2026 at 8:21 PM