Sometimes it’s easy to make quick and rash judgments, especially in social situations. In some cases, we are quick to attribute fault to the individual, claiming that it is something fundamental about them instead of examining the full picture. Through a social psychology class, I was better able to understand this phenomenon and its psychological mechanisms.
What is it called when we blame or judge people on internal characteristics? According to social psychologists, this process is fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to overestimate the extent to which people’s behavior is due to internal, dispositional factors and to underestimate the role of situational factors (Aronson et al, 2013, p. 8).
So, the next time you find yourself judging someone with an outsider’s perspective, try to re-think your assumptions. Try to reframe to think about the contexts that influenced that person’s behaviors. Maybe that person didn’t get a good grade on an exam not because they’re incompetent or unmotivated, but because of the ways the professor had discouraged them to learn, or that they are going through a traumatic experience at home, or maybe it was just a fluke.
Who are we to judge?
– Sarah Gouriche