![]() Soon after the publication of the actor-observer hypothesis, numerous research studies tested its validity, most notably the first such test by Nisbett, Caputo, Legant, and Marecek (1973). This interest was instigated by Fritz Heider’s book, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, and the research in its wake has become known as “attribution research” or “attribution theory.” The background to this hypothesis was social psychology’s increasing interest in the cognitive mechanisms by which people make sense of their own and other people’s behavior. Jones and Nisbett’s (1971) hypothesis implies that a student who studies hard for an exam is likely to explain her own (the “actor”‘s) intensive studying by referring to the upcoming difficult exam whereas other people (the “observers”) are likely to explain her studying by referring to her dispositions such as being hardworking or ambitious. They hypothesized that “actors tend to attribute the causes of their behavior to stimuli inherent in the situation, while observers tend to attribute behavior to stable dispositions of the actor” (Jones & Nisbett, 1971, p. Talk about clueless.The hypothesis of an “actor–observer asymmetry” was first proposed by social psychologists, Jones and Nisbett in 1971. ![]() Hey, when you get a minute, I’ve got to tell you about these idiots I’m working with over at the ABCDEFG Group. ![]() To see this bias in me would require me to slow down and become an observer of my behavior. I rarely notice it in me, in fact I think I may be the enlightened exception. Today and most everyday, I see this one throughout this work. ![]() The normal human simply has this bias and for most of us, this bias is one that we’re blind to. However, when we act out the same mistake, we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. When we observe another make a mistake we assassinate their character. It is called the “actor/observer bias.” I believe it’s part of the HU man condition. Modern psychology has a definition for this condition. Give me a break, we might add at the end. I say to myself and oftentimes to other ears as well, that I didn’t mean to be mean, I was fouled like a banchee on the layup and (the ref sucked btw), I’m not talking behind the bosses back (Chet, he’s just such a BAD man) that nobody tells him the truth, and the truth of the matter is that I’m sorry for what I did and therefore I am not a BAD man, I am a HU man. However, when I commit the same or a similar act, I see myself in a slightly different light. When I “observe” another make a mistake, miss a layup, treat someone without mercy, let someone get away with murder, treat me with diffidence, run a red light, cut me off mid-sentence, layoff workers right before Christmas, “power over” me simply because of their position, talk behind someone’s back, fail (how dare they) to return my call, act inappropriately at the company party, or any other number of small of large grievances, I say to myself and sometimes to other ears as well, that whomever it is that committed the grievous act is one BAD MAN.
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