Docsity
Docsity

Prepare for your exams
Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity


Earn points to download
Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan


Guidelines and tips
Guidelines and tips

Fundamental-Attribution-Error-Teaching-Notes.pdf, Lecture notes of Ethics

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute “causes of behavior to actors (i.e., internal, dispositional factors) rather than the situation ( ...

Typology: Lecture notes

2021/2022

Uploaded on 09/12/2022

shokha
shokha 🇮🇳

4.5

(13)

234 documents

1 / 4

Toggle sidebar

This page cannot be seen from the preview

Don't miss anything!

bg1
1
!
!
Fundamental!Attribution!Error!
Questions!for!classroom!discussions!
!
1) If!you!met!a!famous!white1collar!criminal,!what!would!you!expect!him!(or,!
occasionally,!her)!to!be!like?!
!
2) Why!do!you!think!it!is!so!common!to!hear!white!collar!criminals!described!by!their!
neighbors!as!“the!nicest!guy,”!“a!real!family!man,”!“a!pillar!at!the!local!church,”!etc.?!
!
3) Can!you!think!of!things!that!you!have!done!in!the!past!that!you!wish!you!hadn’t!and!
that!you!do!not!believe!represent!your!true!character?!
!
4) How!can!we!endeavor!to!judge!people’s!character!more!accurately?!
!
Additional!Resources!
!
FRANCESCA!GINO,!SIDETRACKED:+HOW+OUR+DECISIONS+GET+DERAILED+AND+HOW+WE+CAN+STICK+TO+
THE+PLAN+157158!(2013)!
Robert!J.!Shiller,!Finance+and+the+Good+Society+103!(2012)!
pf3
pf4

Partial preview of the text

Download Fundamental-Attribution-Error-Teaching-Notes.pdf and more Lecture notes Ethics in PDF only on Docsity!

Fundamental Attribution Error

Questions for classroom discussions

1) If you met a famous white-­‐collar criminal, what would you expect him (or,

occasionally, her) to be like?

2) Why do you think it is so common to hear white collar criminals described by their

neighbors as “the nicest guy,” “a real family man,” “a pillar at the local church,” etc.?

3) Can you think of things that you have done in the past that you wish you hadn’t and

that you do not believe represent your true character?

4) How can we endeavor to judge people’s character more accurately?

Additional Resources

FRANCESCA GINO, SIDETRACKED: HOW OUR DECISIONS GET DERAILED AND HOW WE CAN STICK TO

THE PLAN 157 -­‐ 58 (2013)

Robert J. Shiller, Finance and the Good Society 103 (2012)

Additional Note

The objective of this video is to introduce students to the fundamental attribution error and its implications. One implication is that we often have a tendency to judge others unfairly because we do not take into account the situational factors that may have caused them to make unethical decisions. We jump to the conclusion that they are bad people because they did a bad thing. That said, it is important to remember that situational factors are usually explanations for while people err, they are not excuses. The best way to avoid this error, experts say, it to put ourselves in the shoes of others and try to envision the pressures they might have faced. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute “causes of behavior to actors (i.e., internal, dispositional factors) rather than the situation (i.e., external, environmental factors.” We see that other people have done bad things, and we assume that it is because of their character rather than the fact that they were, perhaps, striving so hard to please their superiors that they did not even notice the ethical issue that they flubbed. According to some psychologists, the other side of the coin from the fundamental attribution error is the actor-­‐observer bias, which is people’s tendency to over-­‐ emphasize the role of the situation in their own behaviors. They insist there’s nothing wrong with their character, because their errors are accounted for by some situational factor—the boss’s pressure, the need to feed their families, etc. Francesca Gino writes: “In particular, one mistake we systematically make is known as the correspondence bias. When making attributions as we evaluate others, we tend to ascribe too little influence to the situation and too much to their dispositions. In simpler terms, we tend to believe that people’s behavior reflects their unique dispositions and skills, when many times it actually reflects aspects of the situation in which they find themselves.” This sounds a lot like a different name for the fundamental attribution error. The other implication of the fundamental attribution error is that we may be too easy on ourselves, if we are not careful. We may too readily find situational factors, organizational pressures and the like and then simply excuse our own conduct.

A detailed article on teaching behavioral ethics with extensive teaching

resources will be published in Journal of Legal Studies Education (Forthcoming

August 2014, Volume 3, Issue 2). To download a PDF of this article by Robert A.

Prentice, "Teaching Behavioral Ethics,” go to

http://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/wp-­‐content/uploads/2013/10/Teaching-­‐

Behavioral-­‐Ethics-­‐by-­‐Robert-­‐A.-­‐Prentice.pdf

better people than those who made an ethical misstep. A healthy dose of “there but for

the grace of God go I” might be in order. If we can be humble about our own morality

and learn from the mistakes of others, perhaps we can guard against making those same

mistakes ourselves.