Question

One of your hallmates, Ling, is an exchange student from Taiwan. Ling never goes out with the other students, goes to bet at 9:30 every night, and studies quietly in her room most of the time. You assume that Ling behaves the way she does because she is Asian. Which of the following attribution errors might you have committed?
a. self-serving bias
b. fundamental attribution error
c. overattribution
d. all of these

Answer 1

The correct answer is C. Overattribution

Explanation:

The term "over attribution" refers to a type of bias or error in which an individual believes one specific behavior or action is linked to the personality or internal characteristics of a person (disposition), without considering the role of external factors or the situation. This phenomenon occurs in the case presented because instead of thinking Ling behaves in this way because she is a student (situation), the behavior of Ling is attributed to her origin which is part of the disposition of Ling. This shows the person is not considering the situation but only internal characteristics that occur in over attribution.