The Danger of the Fundamental Attribution Error and How to Avoid It
The often-overlooked cognitive bias that hurts both personal and professional relationships creeps in everywhere, and learning how to avoid it is crucial to your development
Cognitive biases are all the rage these days. Writers all over the internet are abuzz with explanations of these flawed ways of reasoning that trip up our ability to be smart about various things. And for good reason — overcoming cognitive biases is key to getting smarter, making better decisions, and advancing in your chosen field.
But there’s one cognitive bias in particular that’s not only intellectually problematic, it’s also morally problematic — as well as completely harmful to our own self-interest. It’s a veritable triple-threat in the world of cognitive biases.
I’m talking about the fundamental attribution error. Here I’ll discuss what it is, the 3 different ways that it’s problematic, and a way to prevent yourself from making the error. At the very least, you’ll find yourself committing the error a lot less, which is still progress worth pursuing.
