Self-Serving Bias
Definition
Self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute positive events to one's own character but attribute negative events to external factors. It's a common type of cognitive bias that has been extensively studied in social psychology.
Analogy
Imagine you're playing a game of basketball and you make a shot - you think, "I'm really good at this!" But if you miss a shot, you blame the wind or say the ball was slippery. That's self-serving bias!
Related terms
Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency for people to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics (personality) to explain someone else's behavior in a given situation rather than considering the situation's external factors.
Defensive Attribution: A psychological term referring to how people distance themselves from individuals who have experienced misfortune or crime, based on fears and insecurities about their own safety.
Actor-Observer Bias: This refers to our tendency to attribute our own actions to external causes while attributing other people’s behaviors to their internal characteristics.
"Self-Serving Bias" appears in:
Study guides (4)
Practice Questions (12)
Which of the following best describes the self-serving bias?
Because of the self-serving bias, we may be more likely to…
Why do people tend to have a self-serving bias?
What is the role of self-serving bias within social cognition?
In psychology, what is meant by 'self-serving bias'?
What role does self-serving bias play in attribution theory?
When is self-serving bias most likely to occur?
How does the self-serving bias support the concept of ego defense mechanism in psychoanalysis?
Which experiment would best demonstrate the self-serving bias in attribution theory?
How might self-serving bias challenge the validity of self-report measures in psychological studies?
How can an individual's self-serving bias be effectively leveraged in cognitive behavioral therapy?
How would you conduct an innovative study exploring self-serving bias?
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