Occurs when we overly attribute others’ behaviour to their personality/disposition instead of their environment.

Background

Attribution theory: we have a tendency to attribute causes to behaviour

  • attribute behaviour in terms of personality/disposition (internal), or
  • attribute behaviour in terms of situation (external)

Conversely…

When it comes to our own behaviour, we tend to attribute situation more so than personality/disposition. This can be because we are more familiar with our own situations. For example, recently getting laid off a job.