The actor-observer bias is a bias because it may often lead to wrong assumptions. The person on the bus isn’t rude, and their actions had good intentions. They probably did not think that they were being rude - they may have thought they were being polite.
One possible reason is that when people are the actors in a situation, they cannot see their own actions. When they are the observers, however, they are easily able to observe the behaviors of other people.
If we are the observer, we are likely to attribute the actor’s actions to their personality. The man in the first example was the observer. He saw the person giving him the cold shoulder and assumed that it was due to them being a rude person.
This person is rude. This situation is an example of a bias that you might not even know you have. It’s not a racial bias or a bias based on the person’s gender. It’s simply a bias based on who you are and what actions are taking place.
When they are the observers, however, they are easily able to observe the behaviors of other people.
It is a type of attributional bias that plays a role in how we perceive and interact with other people. Essentially, people tend to make different attributions depending upon whether they are the actor or the observer in a situation.
is a common complaint, often heard on both sides, because each side attributes its own behavior to the situation but the others' behavior to their traits and other dispositions ," authors Baumeister and Bushman explain in their book Social Psychology and Human Nature.
When something negative happens to another person, people will often blame the individual for their personal choices, behaviors, and actions. For example, when a doctor tells someone that their cholesterol levels are elevated, the patient might blame factors that are outside of their control such as genetic or environmental influences.
Actor-Observer Bias in Social Psychology. Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig).
The actor-observer bias is a bias because it may often lead to wrong assumptions. The person on the bus isn’t rude, and their actions had good intentions.
His goal is to help people improve their lives by understanding how their brains work. 1,700,000 Youtube subscribers and a growing team of psychologists, the dream continues strong!
The two people on the bus may develop a strained or tense relationship because of this interaction and their biases. In a different situation, they could be great pals! And this bias doesn’t just happen on buses, between two people, or once and a while.
It’s not a racial bias or a bias based on the person’s gender. It’s simply a bias based on who you are and what actions are taking place. If you are the actor (the person giving the cold shoulder,) you are likely to view the situation differently than the observer (the person doing the talking.)