Trying Maya Best

The fundamental attribution error , introduced by Lee Ross (1977), refers to the tendency to explain others’ behavior as a reflection of their disposition while underestimating the influence of situational factors. This bias occurs because people naturally focus on observable behavior, which is more salient than situational factors (Heider, 1958), leading them to automatically attribute actions to the person rather than the context. One of the first and most widely known pieces of evidence for the fundamental attribution error comes from a study by Jones and Harris (1967). In this experiment, participants read essays written by students that either supported or opposed Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba at the time. Participants were told that the writers either freely chose their position or were assigned it, when in reality, all positions were randomly assigned. After reading the essays, participants were asked to infer the writers’ true attitudes toward Castro. When participants beli...

Coined by Robert Merton in 1948, self-fulfilling prophecies occur when a belief or expectation about a person or situation causes us to behave in ways that make that belief come true. Merton illustrates this with an example of a bank during the Great Depression in the 1930s. When rumor spread that the bank was struggling and would be filing for bankruptcy, customers frantically withdrew their money and closed their accounts. This ultimately caused the bank to fail, thus turning the false expectation into reality. One of the strongest pieces of evidence supporting Merton’s (1948) idea comes from a study conducted by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson (1968), a school principal. After administering a test to students, elementary school teachers were told that, based on the results, certain students were expected to improve academically and intellectually. This was done to examine whether teacher expectations could influence student performance. In reality, these students were chosen a...

Originally proposed by Berglas and Jones (1978), self-handicapping occurs when individuals create obstacles before a task in order to blame potential failure on external factors rather than their own ability. By doing so, people protect their self-esteem and avoid confronting the disappointing possibility that they may lack the skills needed to succeed.  To demonstrate this, Berglas and Jones (1978) had college students complete two tests. One group experienced success on the first test and expected to perform well again, while the other group took a difficult test, causing them to doubt their ability to succeed on the second. Before the second test, participants could choose a drug that would either enhance or impair their performance. Results showed that participants who felt uncertain about their ability were more likely to choose the impairing drug. Through this study, Berglas and Jones (1978) demonstrated that individuals deliberately create obstacles when anticipating fail...