How Attributions Get Distorted
One of the more interesting findings from attribution theory is that there are errors or
biases that distort attributions. For instance, there is substantial evidence that when we
judge the behaviour of other people, we tend to put more emphasis on internal or per-
sonal factors and less emphasis on external factors.^9 This is called the fundamental
attribution errorand can explain why a sales manager is prone to attribute the poor
performance of his or her sales agents to laziness rather than to the innovative product
line introduced by a competitor. Recent research suggests that journalists often engage
in the fundamental attribution error when they over-attribute firm performance to the
CEO’s characteristics. This attribution error results in the creation of “celebrity CEOs.”^10
Research suggests that individuals tend to overestimate their own good behaviour and
underestimate the good behaviour of others.^11 We use self-serving biaswhen we judge our-
selves. This means that when we are successful, we are more likely to believe it was because
of internal factors, such as ability or effort. When we fail, however, we blame external fac-
tors, such as luck. In general, people tend to believe that their own behaviour is more pos-
itive than the behaviour of those around them. In a recent study, managers suggested that
even though they were not responsible for the past poor performance of employees, they
felt that they could help employees improve their behaviour in the future.^12
Attribution theory was developed largely in the United States on the basis of experi-
ments with Americans, but there is no particular reason to believe it would not apply
in Canada. However, evidence from Japan^13 and Korea^14 suggests we should be careful
in making attribution theory predictions in nonWestern countries or in those with strong
collectivist traditions, such as Spain, Portugal, and some Eastern European countries.Selective Perception
Because it is impossible for us to absorb everything we see,
we engage in selective perception. Any characteristic that
makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the
probability that we see that characteristic, rather than the
whole package of characteristics. This tendency explains
why, as we noted earlier, you are more likely to notice cars
like your own.
How does selectivity work as a shortcut in judging other people? Since we cannot
absorb all that we see, we take in bits and pieces. Those bits and pieces are not chosen ran-
domly, but are selectively chosen according to our
interests, background, experience, and attitudes.
For instance, you are listening to your instructor
while surfing the net. The next thing you know, the
instructor is calling on you, asking a question, but
you have no idea what to answer because you got
involved in an online auction on eBay and lost track
of the classroom discussion. While you were surfing,
the eBay auction became more important than what
your instructor was saying, and you tuned her out.
However, had she said “tomorrow’s test will cover
the following topics,” you might have snapped to
attention again, knowing that you needed that infor-
mation to study effectively.
Selective perception also allows us to “speed-
read” others, but we may draw inaccurate pictures
as a result. Because we see what we want to see,
we can make unwarranted conclusions about an36 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace
fundamental attribution error
The tendency to underestimate the
influence of external factors and
overestimate the influence of inter-
nal factors when making judgments
about the behaviour of others.
Many day traders credited the gains they made in high-tech stocks between
1996 and early 2000 to their personal skills. But they blamed external sources
for their losses when the prices of high-tech stocks took a nosedive.
self-serving bias The tendency
for individuals to attribute their own
successes to internal factors while
putting the blame for failures on
external factors.
selective perception People’s
selective interpretation of what they
see based on their interests, back-
ground, experience, and attitudes.
Have you ever
misjudged a person?
Do you know why?