2915: Fundamental Attribution Error: Why You Make Lousy Life Choices by Nir Eyal of Nir And Far on Empathy

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 2915, Fundamental Attribution Error. Why You Make Lousy Life Choices by Nir Eyal of Nir And Far.com and Empathy Generator Justin Malik.

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll get you to jump right into our next article today as we optimize your life.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Fundamental Attribution Error, why You Make Lousy Life Choices by Nir Eyal of Nir And Far.com.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00]: There I was sitting in a packed movie theater. I waited two years for this sequel and I've gotten

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: enough popcorn and diet soda to last me a full three hours. 15 minutes into the movie, they hear

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: on villain are facing off of the first time when a lady burst into the theater.

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Trying to find a seat she awkwardly tries to squeeze into the middle of the row in front of me

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_00]: blocking the best part of the movie. What a rude and inconsiderate person I think to myself

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: as a daughter body when she scuffles by. A week later, I'm rushing to catch another film with

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_00]: my friends, it's pouring rain and traffic is crazy. I hope I make it before the previews end

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00]: but when I reach the theater soaking wet I might add. The movie has already begun.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I have to turn on the flashlight on my phone to find my seat and accidentally step on a few

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_00]: movie-goers toes. I hear tuts and loud size. It's clear these people think I'm a complete jerk.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, this isn't my fault. It's raining and the traffic was insane. I think to myself as I take my seat.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm usually never late. The fundamental attribution error strikes again. The fundamental attribution error

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_00]: is our bias to judge other people differently from how we judge ourselves. It is, according to

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Christina Bichieri quote, the tendency to believe that what people do reflects who they are and

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_00]: who are well, for better and for worse. This cognitive bias takes a few forms. The first occurs when things go poorly.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_00]: When we screw up, we tend to believe things happen because of circumstances outside of our control.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: However, when others fail, we tend to think it is a result of poor choices or someone being a bad person.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, I believe that being late to the movie was due to the weather, something I couldn't control.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: However, I didn't give the same affords into the other movie go where it was late. I assume she was a rude person despite having no idea what might have made her late.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: The second type of fundamental attribution error occurs when things go well. When we succeed, we tend to believe it is the result of our talent and hard work.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: That might be true, however, when other succeed are biased in making a think that the other person got lucky or was privileged in some way.

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_00]: That college friend who made it big in Hollywood or your pal who now reports to the CEO at a Fortune 500 company, they were just at the right place at the right time, right? Why so, Judg.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: What's the deal with our tendency to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt while not doing the same for others?

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Firstly, it's hard to see things clearly when we don't have all the information. We only see a sliver of the world around us.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: When someone else screws up, we see them as the most obvious cause of the problem. We don't see all the things that might also be going on.

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: When it comes to our own mistakes, we're fully aware of the factors outside our control so we understand the context of why we tripped up.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: On the flip side, attributioner successes to our awesomeness, boosts our confidence makes us feel good and improves our reputation among the people around us.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Turns out that confidence boost can benefit us and may even serve an evolutionary purpose.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Researchers believe it may help us take on beneficial risks as we change our perception of what we're capable of.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, a study of unemployed college grads found those who credit their successes to themselves were more likely to find a job than students who tended to blame themselves for failures.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_00]: The researchers believe students who viewed things in a more self-serving way were more motivated and optimistic about their futures.

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: End of an error.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: While the fundamental attribution error has some benefits, it also has a downside when it comes to how we think about others.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Being aware of this tendency can help us put it in its place.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Here are two ways to make sure the bias doesn't get the best of us.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: 1.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: acknowledged the role of chance

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Have you paused to grasp how many things had to go just right for you to be hearing the sentence right now?

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: In the 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang out of the billions of planets floating around the black abyss of space among countless galaxies,

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_00]: 2 million years of human evolution just happened to insert one special sperm out of millions into one single leg that made you.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: The odds of wanting this cosmic lottery are mind-blowing and the best part is you had nothing to do with it.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: You also happen to be alive in a safest, healthiest, most well educated, most equitable time in human history.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Sure things are far from perfect in the world, but for the average person now is a whole lot better than any other time in history.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Remembering how many things outside of our control had to go just right can help us feel more grateful and reminds us of how lucky we are that so many things we had nothing to do with went just so.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: The same attitude regarding the role of chance plays in all our lives can help us cultivate a more unbiased point of view.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: 2.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Try some empathy

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Research shows we are more likely to fall for the fundamental attribution error when we make quick judgments of others.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: The next time you find yourself critical if someone else is behavior blaming who they are instead of what they did try practicing some empathy.

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Practicing empathy has been found to reduce the fundamental attribution error.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Researchers believe pretending you are in the shoes of the person you are likely to blame makes this kinder unless judgmental.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, that person who cut you off in traffic might be a jerk or alternatively maybe the driver is a woman in labor.

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Of course you will never know but why not consider it anyway.

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Your anger won't change or driving and does nothing because you undue stress.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Before being so quick to judge try coming up with an alternative story behind why someone might behave a certain way.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't matter if the story is a little wacky you'll likely find a scenario you could potentially see yourself in.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Just humans.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Humans seem to be hard wired to make the fundamental attribution error.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It evolved to aid our survival by bolstering our confidence and reputation.

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: However, in modern society this cognitive bias can hurt us and others more than it serves us.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And causes to lose our cool get into more trouble because of the repercussions of our anger or ruin our day if we let it.

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: However, this bias isn't our destiny.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: There are ways we can fight this tendency and live a happier, more empathetic life.

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_00]: The next time you catch yourself about to lose your patience or tempted to give someone the sting guy or judge them as a bad person, remember their human just like you.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Give them the benefit of the doubt and put yourself in their shoes even if it takes a little effort.

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll all be better off for it.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listen to the post titled, Fundamental Attribution Error, Why You Make Lowsy Life Choices by nearaall of nearanfar.com.

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[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Think it in here, his name is spelled NIR.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_00]: There are actually some great illustrations that go along with this post.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_00]: You can always find the link and go read the articles for yourself by going into this episode's description.

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I have a link to the original article there.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_00]: This is one of a few different articles that I've narrated from here going over different biases that we all have like confirmation bias, hindsight bias and more.

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_00]: He's a much of other ones, some of which I've narrated that are worth checking out, especially if you like this post.

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_00]: But it's so true. We've all probably been that person driving and we're ready to scream at that person in front of us who is taking what seems like forever to get going at a green light.

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_00]: But then when we're the ones who just take a couple of seconds to take our foot off the break pedal and then someone hongs at us,

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_00]: well now we're the victim and can't believe that someone would be so impatient.

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It's funny how that works, but it's something to pay attention to and keep in mind.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_00]: But that should do it for today. Have a great start to your week if you're listening in real time and I'll see you tomorrow, where you're optimal life awaits.