Four Aspects of Social Judgment

“The fundamental attribution error “

Consider the last time you were cut off in traffic.  Your immediate reaction was that the individual who cut you off was a jerk.  Conversely, consider the last time you were suddenly honked at for drifting into a different lane.  You may have had an immediate alibi (e.g. a bike whizzed too close to my left, the sun was in my eyes, my infant was distracting me) that explained your behavior based on an external situation.  You didn’t immediately come to the conclusion that you were an inconsiderate or incompetent driver.

We bitch about the person at the Supermarket express counter with 25 items. We assume they’re a rude and inconsiderate person. If it were us, we explain, it is because we are preoccupied dealing with our children.

We whine about our boss reprimanding us, making a big deal out of nothing. We assume he is a petty and cruel person. But he/she could be distressed because of a death in the family or he /she is worried that he or she won’t be able to make payroll. Or your boss was just diagnosed with cancer and is scrambling behind the scenes to find someone to train to do his job if he can no longer do it.

We snort at the receptionist talking on the phone while you wait to check in for your dental appointment. You assume she is incompetent, lazy and unprofessional. But what might be going on…She is talking to her daughter who is contemplating suicide. Or talking to another patient, who is asking a lot of questions about his treatment and won’t get off the phone.

We usually assign external reasons for our own behavior, but internal motives to other people. If we are running late for a meeting, we'll blame it on public transport. If someone else is running late for a meeting with us, we'll blame it on their poor time-keeping. If we do it, it is accidental but if others do it, it is intentional. There is little thought given to whether the person was in some difficult situation that influenced their behavior.

How to avoid being judgmental ?

Although it is usually our first reaction, if we take a step back to recognize and accept that most people are good and decent, subject to the same difficulties in life as we are, we will feel dissed far less often.

The Fundamental Attribution Error is so pervasive that I guarantee you will see it in action over the next week if you keep your eyes open.

“The confirmation bias”

If we hold a particular belief about someone, we will look for evidence that supports our theory while conveniently ignoring any facts that don't fit. If we believe that someone is lazy, we will spend more time thinking about and discussing the times they didn't wash up than all the times they may have emptied the bins.

“The ‘Just World’ phenomenon”

We tend to believe that people "get what they deserve". So strong is our need to believe in the moral order of the universe that we may look for evidence that a victim of a crime had done something to warrant their bad luck. Look at all the stupid remarks people made on the Delhi gang rape case.

“The halo effect”

Studies have found we are far kinder judges of other people if we find them attractive. Although there is no proven correlation between beauty and any other ability or personality trait, we tend to believe that attractive people are kinder and more intelligent than their less photogenic counterparts.