actor observer bias and fundamental attribution error

ACTOR OBSERVER BIAS AND FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR FREE

The reporter may however judge a politician of a different party more harshly when they may have performed a political blunder.įor example, most of the media has portrayed Sarah Palin, as an inexperienced politician that could not possibly qualify for the presidency. For example, if the reporter knows of an unflattering story regarding a politician that he or she favors, he or she may not report the story even though this would be considered news. Suntan12-I think sometimes people in the media also display a fundamental attribution error.Īlthough the media is supposed to be unbiased, often the reporter's very own bias can be interpreted by the angle of the story. So clearly judging someone by a specific action is a very big error in human judgment. To this day his legacy remains one of the most powerful of our nation’s history. However, President Reagan not only grew 20 million jobs during his presidency but was instrumental in the fall of communism of eastern Germany and all of the Soviet Union. In addition, the media mocked Ronald Reagan and said he was not intelligent because of the fact that he was a Hollywood actor. People criticized him because he was a Hollywood actor, but he was also the governor of California much like how Sarah Palin was the governor of Alaska. Many of the same things were said about President. I think the very fact that the media pursues Sarah Palin means that they find her somewhat threatening. SurfNturf-I could not agree with you more. They attributed more traits to Obama, but in actuality Sarah Palin, has far more executive experience and more qualified for the position based on experience.

The media viewed his eloquent speaking style as him having superior intelligence and leadership skills. Obama became President and only served a few years as a Senator and was a Community organizer for Acorn before that. What I don’t understand is how the media claims that Sarah Palin does not have enough executive experience to be President, but she was a Mayor and a Governor. There are times when gifted students also suffer from learning disabilities which is not always caught because the teacher assumes that the child is being the lazy because they have shown exceptional abilities in other areas. Sometimes people have the misconception that gifted students are gifted in every subject and that's not correct. The student might be bored in the classroom and might need more challenging workload, or the child might suffer from a learning disability that prevents him or her from absorbing certain information. However there could be a very good explanation. Some say that the teacher will make a judgment regarding a student based on some actions.įor example, a gifted student that produces average grades is seen as lazy by the teacher. icecream17 September 30, 2010Ĭrispety- Sometimes I see the fundamental attribution error occurring in teachers. But as time passes, events have shown why Palin is under qualified for Presidency, not fundamental attribution error with the media. With much evidence it has be shown that Palin has made mistakes, tried to be a celebrity, and cannot make decisions as a leader. I cannot stress enough how a fundamental attribution error has not occurred through media towards Palin. You might also LikeĪ comparison to Palin's politically blunders is quiet irresponsible.

ACTOR OBSERVER BIAS AND FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR FREE

Spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and Mary McMahonĮver since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced theĮxciting challenge of being a AllTheScience researcher and writer. When an individual is trying to explain his own behavior, he should avoid indulging the actor-observer effect, and make sure to give his personality some credit. Awareness of this common cognitive bias can help a person look for hidden behavioral factors, making him a better observer and better able to read people and situations. By thinking about what he might do in the same situation, the person might come up with some situational factors for a behavior that could shed more light on the subject. To avoid making the fundamental attribution error, one of the best things an individual can do is “put himself in the other person's shoes,” as the old saying goes.

Actor observer bias and fundamental attribution error