We can’t see things from their vantage point. We’re likely to attribute their behavior to their personality because we can’t peek into their minds. When we’re an observer of an actor, they become ‘part’ of our surroundings. Hence, we’re likely to miss internal factors that may drive our behaviors. Introspection doesn’t come as naturally to us as paying attention to our surroundings. Since attention is a limited resource, it’s cognitively effortful to turn our attention inward and introspect. Therefore, in this condition, it’s easy to attribute situational causes to our behavior. We can ‘see’ how we behave or respond to changing circumstances. When we’re an actor, we focus our attention on our surroundings. The actor-observer bias is the consequence of how our attention and perception systems work. When your spouse replies late (observer), you believe they did it intentionally (internal cause). When you reply late to a text (actor), you explain you were busy (external cause). When you see a family member do the same, you say they’re clumsy (internal cause).

When you drop a glass of water (actor), you say it’s because the glass was slippery (external cause). When you see someone else cutting you off (observer), you assume they’re a rude and inconsiderate person (internal cause), paying no heed to their situational factors. When you’re driving, you cut someone off (actor) and blame it on the fact that you’re in a hurry and need to get to the office on time (external cause).

And when we’re an observer of a behavior, we attribute that behavior to the personality of the actor. When we’re an actor, we’re likely to attribute our behavior to situational factors. We’re prone to making errors in attributing causation to behavior based on whether we’re an actor (a doer of behavior) or an observer (of an actor). Internal causes refer to a person’s disposition or personality. External causes include situational factors that one has no control over. The actor-observer bias occurs when people attribute their own behaviors to external causes and the behaviors of others to internal causes. “Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, ‘What else could this mean?’” – Shannon Alder

Actor observer bias psych 100