? Heuristic of the Day: Actor-Observer Bias
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Suffering from double standards and flawed thinking? Quick to explain your own faults with circumstances and yet explain others’ faults due to personality? You may be able to blame the Actor-Observer Bias.
We explain other peoples’ behaviors by overemphasizing the influence of personality and de-emphasizing the influence of their situation. Our own behaviors are explained oppositely—there’s an overemphasis on the influence of our own situation and an underemphasis on the influence of our own personality.
Negative, unjust, or even false judgments emerge before we really know the other person.
On the flip side, the Actor-Observer Bias tends to cause individuals to think more egotistically, making very situational excuses for their own behavior, whereas it might come off to others as much more intentional or representative of who that person is.
By making a conscious effort to be more empathetic and less self-centered, we can fight this bias. Thinking this way promotes empathy for others and makes quick judgments less likely.