Attribution theories and their applications

Attribution Bias: Personal Anecdotes

One of the most common sources of conflict in relationships is incorrect interpretations of motivation. Because people are narcissistic and cannot always project themselves into the mindset of others, they focus on personality-based vs. situational reasons for behavior and misbehavior. A good example of this was a source of conflict during one of my years in middle school. My English class consistently ran late. Because it was located on the other side of the building, this meant that I was always late for math class the following period. My math teacher was a stickler about promptness, and was clearly prejudiced against me because she interpreted my lateness as rudeness and saw it as an expression of a lack of concern and respect for her class. However, the fault lay with my earlier teacher and the fact that I was too young and shy to ask my English teacher to let me leave on time (of course, this might have caused my English teacher to become angry at me, creating more conflict).

Another error of attribution occurs when we assume that people's characters are fixed and assume that behavior is stable rather than unstable. A male friend of mine, whom I otherwise like, tends to be a 'serial dater.' When he complains about having problems with his girlfriend, I tend to secretly assume that he is the cause rather than the women. Of course, I could be wrong, given that every situation is different between two people, but I am innately suspicious of his perspective on the situation. This often makes me less-than-sympathetic, and creates conflict between the two of us. I find myself saying: "yes, but remember how you treated Jenny," which causes him to respond with anger, saying that his relationship with Jenny is in the past and that Samantha is treating him badly in the present.

A third attribution error is when people make assumptions about the roots of behavior based upon about how global vs. specific the cause of the behavior may be -- for example, when I get into an argument with a male friend of mine, one of them often says that my words are very 'typical' of a woman. He states (half in jest) that because I judge things in an emotional fashion this is due to my gender (a 'global' or stereotypical cause) rather than to my honest, personal assessment of the situation. It is not uncommon to hear female behavior being attributed to hormones, rather than to the actual, immediate facts. This makes me even more frustrated and angry, because I am unable to respond to the allegations in a meaningful fashion, as everything I say and do will be attributed to my femaleness and my biological characteristics, rather than to my logic.