Mind Games: Fundamental Attribution Error

Hey everybody.

So today’s post is the start of a new series. Something like Random Thoughts, but with a more psychological bent. Mind Games is about what goes on inside our heads. The moving parts, spinning gears, and those little bits that get stuck and jam up the machinery.

Mental processes, if you want the boring term.

Which interest me. I tend to ask ‘why’ questions, and one of the most important we can ask is why we act the way we do. Where, exactly, our mental strengths and weaknesses come from.

The strongest chains are those that shackle the mind.

Or armour it, depending. I talk a lot about imagination and creativity, the golden views and haunting melodies. But I am interested in the nuts and bolts, too.

First, credit where credit is due. I just read Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, in which the author devotes a year to active attempts to make herself happier* in every aspect of her life– family, marriage, finances, etc. It’s great stuff, full of insights and tidbits of knowledge and told in a conversational tone. Here’s her blog, and her Four Tendencies quiz. Apparently I’m an Obliger. Not entirely comfortable with that, but I can’t deny the description fits.

Those insights were the inspiration for this series. Not just because they’re interesting, but because I recognized many in myself. Some I’ve known about for ages. Others gave me an Oh moment.

You know. When you go, Ohhhhhhh.

That’s my term. All rights reserved.

So - our first entry is the fundamental attribution error. This is the tendency to underestimate the complexity of other people’s lives. To ascribe their actions to character, as opposed to circumstance.

Yeah, I didn’t get it either. Basically it means we often think other people are just ‘like that’, instead of having some kind of reason behind their actions – even though we ourselves always have reasons behind our actions.

For example, if that guy at work just walked past without saying hello, he’s rude. If I do it, it’s because I’m thinking about making up for that anniversary I forgot/a relative’s life-threatening illness/an infestation of giant cockroaches. Get it?

I’d never heard of this before, and reading of it was enlightening. Because I do this all the time. Deep down, my first reaction to these things tends to be that jerk this person is inconsiderate. Then I take a step back, and try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sometimes, anyway.

I found this interesting because…well. When dealing with others, we’re often reminded not to judge too quickly, but to have patience and understanding, right?

This is the science behind it. What more proof do you need?

So here’s your reminder.

That’s all for now. In the name of writing more frequent posts – once a month really isn’t that much, is it – I’m making them shorter, one or two topics at a time instead of a shotgun blast all at once. More credit given. You know who you are.

Unless I feel like writing something really, really long. Who knows.

*smiles innocently*

I’ll be back.

*Incidentally, I’ve just gotten something that makes me very happy – in an admittedly geeky way. But I’ll talk about that next time.