The fundamental attribution error: An investigation of sensitivity to role‐conferred advantages in self‐presentation

Abstract

It has been claimed that there is a general tendency for social perceivers to underestimate the importance of environmental influences upon behaviour, or to make the ‘fundamental attribution error’. This experiment sets out to test the validity of this claim by extending the study of Ross et al. (1977), which has been taken as a strong demonstration of the tendency. Four general knowledge quiz sessions, each involving a questioner and an answerer, were held and transcripts of the quizzes produced. Each transcript was then read by 14 students who subsequently rated the quiz participants in terms of general knowledge and of specific knowledge of 17 areas, given the information that questioners themselves composed their own questions. Results showed that on general knowledge questioners were rated significantly higher than their respective answerers, suggesting that observers do in fact neglect the environmental influences upon behaviour. However, as predicted, analysis of specific knowledge ratings showed that the questioners were seen as significantly superior to the answerers only on the areas of knowledge used in their quiz; for areas of knowledge not covered by quiz questions, mean ratings of questioners and answerers were almost identical. The implications of these findings for the existence of a general tendency to make the fundamental attribution error are discussed.