“That’s the kind of a person he is!”

There was once a little boy named Larry. He was poor and his clothes were torn, he looked malnourished and was often seen roaming on the streets begging. The people who had seen him often on the street did not have any kind of an opinion about him. For them, he was just there. However, one day, Larry stole from a grocery store and ran. People saw and people judged. “That’s how beggars are” “He’s obviously stealing, look at him!” “His father was a thief and now him… surprise, surprise!” and so much more.

Can there be more to Larry than this? Obviously yes! We have all watched enough movies and read stories to know that there is more to this than what is being told. But then, when it comes of our lives, do we still think that there’s more to the story? Think about it!

She got divorced for the second time, he got rejected in an interview again, an she had an emotional meltdown in public, the manager shouted at his team members, or this kid got caught cheating in the exam. Before labeling someone as divorced, a loser, over-emotional, hot headed or a cheater, think about it, can there be more to this?

How often is our response — “That’s the kind of person he is”, “She’s always been like that” or “… because that’s how he is”? I am sure that we are all guilty of making such statements and judging other people on their behavior.

Well, whenever we make assumptions about another individual based on the “kind” of person he or she is, the psychological term for that is Fundamental Attribution Error or the Correspondence Bias. This is a bias that we may hold towards other people where we over-emphasize on personality based explanations for behaviors observed and under-emphasize situational explanations.

In reality, the way we behave depends on two key aspects, our personality characteristics and traits plus the external situation. Disregarding the external situation or the circumstances is like saying a plant only needs soil to grow. Actually, it needs soil (for sure) but it also needs water and appropriate climatic condition among other things. So, in a nutshell, there are always several factors involved when something happens, whether positive or negative, it is not always only someone or the “kind” of a person he/she is.

#Don’t Judge #Be kind to yourself and others

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Fundamental Attribution Error. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below or write to me on psychologyenthusiast89@gmail.com