mrs c

Fundamental attribution error is defined by Aronson (2013, p. 89) as “the tendency to overestimate the extent to which people’s behavior is due to internal, dispositional factors and to under estimate the role of situational factors”. Attributions are only inferences and the attributions we assign to certain events may not always be the correct explanation. Contradictory as it may seem, Aronson (2013) explains that attribution theory describes the way in which people justify the causes of their own and other people’s behavior. I found out the meaning of fundamental attribution error one morning at work. I answered the phone at work only to be accosted by an irate wife of a client who was carrying on about her white bedroom rug that had a few stains on it. In an attempt to rectify the situation I made several suggestions on how she could prevent these stains from becoming worse but apparently my suggestions fell on deaf ears, because her dialog only became more accusatory and caustic. I managed to end the call by promising to have the rug cleaned and advising the nursing staff to be more conscientious when handling Mr. C . I immediately judged her to be “crazy “ and “ obsessive” and the rest of my staff agreed that Mrs. C. was indeed an unreasonable, ranting lunatic. For four days I continued to believe that Mrs. C.’s telephone rant was in fact due to her cranky, lunacy (an internal attribution) and ridiculous over attention to minor details. In fact, I hate to admit this, but I believe she should have been grateful for the nurses who came to her home to help her husband, since he was a very large, heavy man that required complex care.

It was only latter in the week; after I sent a nurse out to investigate this matter did I fi...

... middle of paper ...

...ndamental error utilizing the two-step model may be the preferred view. Aronson (2013, p.92) reinforces this notion by stating “that engaging in the second step of attributional processing if we slow down and think carefully before reaching a judgment, if we are motivated to reach as accurate a judgment as possible…”

The role of perceptual salience in the fundamental attribution error also came into play in my telephone conversation with Mrs. C. (pg 90). Aronson (et al. 2013) points out that that the reason some people “may fall prey to fundamental attribution error is because when we try to explain someone’s behavior, our focus of attention is usually on the person, not on the surrounding situation”. In this example, the circumstances that have influenced Mrs. C.’s behavior tended to be salient to me. If you were to have asked Mrs. C.

Works Cited

aronson 2013