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A causal explanation using evidence from the situation a person is in. "Matt ate the ice cream because it was hot outside."

Situational attribution (external)

Humans tend to overestimate the influence of personality (dispositional) compared to situational factors when making explanations for why people do what they do. 

The Fundamental Attribution Error

A student you don't know well fails an exam. Which of the following thoughts best represents an explanation for their failure that is based on external, situational factors?

The fundamental attribution error is a cognitive bias describing the common tendency to overemphasize internal, dispositional factors as explanations for someone else's behavior while underestimating the impact of external, situational factors. People committing this error often overlook even obvious situational influences, incorrectly assuming that a person's actions directly reflect their personality rather than their circumstances. This tendency is particularly prevalent in cultures that favor a dispositional view of human behavior, such as in the United States.

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