The Fundamental Attribution Error

I want to share a principle with you that when applied can be incredibly powerful. You may have read the title and thought, "Wow, that sounds like a pretty complicated thing to understand!" And at first it might seem that way, but this principle is really very simple when you know what it does and how to avoid it. No, the word AVOID isn't a typo. There aren't many fundamental principles that we talk about avoiding, but this is one and if you want your relationships to be the most effective they can, you will do everything you can do rid it from your life.

So what is the fundamental attribution error and what does it do? In simple terms, it is the natural inclination of humans to attribute or blame negative outcomes of others to character traits or internal reasons, and conversely, to attribute negative outcomes for ourselves to external reasons. If you still aren't sure what I'm talking about, let's look at a couple examples to make it clear.

Say you are having a conversation with someone that you think is extremely important. But the other person keeps looking away or zoning out or asking you to repeat yourself. This principle says that our natural response to that person is to attribute their lack of focus or attention to some flaw in their character. Maybe they don't really care about me or they are just a bad listener. When in reality, perhaps they are looking for one of their kids that they can't find. Maybe they just got some really bad news and it's all they can think about. Again, our immediate response is to blame their character in some way, rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Next, let's say that you have committed to your boss to have a report done by a certain deadline. That deadline comes and goes and you never complete the report. When your boss asks you why, it is unlikely that you will say, "Well, I'm just lazy (a character flaw)." It's more likely that you will refer to a lack of resources or an unrealistic timeline, both of which are external to you. You see, we assume the best about ourselves as explanations for our negative actions.

Hopefully the fundamental attribution error makes more sense to you and maybe now you're thinking, "So what?" "What is so bad about this?" Well, there are a number of negative consequences to this mindset and reasons that we should do our best to unlearn it as quickly as possible. First, is that by thinking in such a manner we are degrading our humility and feeding our pride. I think we could all agree that a little less pride and a little more humility is good for us all. The problem arises when we find ourselves always assuming the worst about others and yet the best about ourselves. We are subconsciously telling ourselves that there is "something wrong" with them and conversely that we are somehow "better than."

Next, if we continually assume the worst, it will quickly inhibit our ability to empathize with others and in the long term, will stunt our ability to build effective and vulnerable relationships with others, both in the home and in the office. For us to truly flex our empathy "muscle" we must make a habit of using it. That requires us to truly understand others and view things from their standpoint. The legendary Stephen Covey, in his book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," says it this way: "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." This means, that we cannot assume, because we all know what that does...

Finally, the more we avoid the fundamental attribution error, the more positive our general mindset will be. Studies abound that show the incredible impact of a positive frame of reference. One study showed that positive people, on average, live about seven years longer than their negative counterparts. Other studies show that positive people earn more money, get sick less, and recover quicker than those with a negative frame of mind. What more motivation do you need than that?!

I challenge you to take the next 30 days and be aware of situations in your daily life where you can choose to avoid the fundamental attribution error. Choose to think the best about others. In the words of Bob Goff, "assume the least creepiest explanation possible" for why someone is acting the way they are. I think if you do that, you will find improvements in areas of your life that you never expected.

If you do this or have already done this, I would love to hear your stories in the comments below and if you found this post to be valuable, please like it and subscribe and share it with others that may need to hear it. Have a blessed week!

Sources:

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

2. The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

3. Love Does by Bob Goff