Why we explain behaviour through personality rather than context

Fundamental attribution error was demonstrated in 1967 by Edward Jones and Victor Harris at Duke University. They had students read speech transcripts from debaters arguing both for and against Fidel Castro. The students treated the speechwriter’s ideas as revealing the speaker’s inner beliefs when they were told the person had chosen the position.

When the students were told the debater had no choice and had simply been assigned a pro- or anti-Castro stance, they still assumed the speech reflected the speaker’s real character. The situation’s influence barely entered into their judgement.

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You Are Not So Smart: Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, Why You Have Too Many Friends On Facebook

David Mcraney

Excerpt from

You Are Not So Smart: Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, Why You Have Too Many Friends On Facebook

by David Mcraney

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Curse of knowledge

Once we know something, it becomes hard to imagine what it feels like not to know it.

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Why we explain behaviour through personality rather than context

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