Fundamental Attribution Error

One day I was waiting in the lift lobby at work, having nothing to do. It was one of those days where frustration was sky-high, everything that could go wrong did. So, I took a break! Software engineers reading this would agree with me. Might seem silly for others though. Coming back to the story. There in the ground floor lift lobby, I noticed a guy, who was in his mid-30s or so he looked like. We entered the lift.  He punched in floor 1. What a lazy ass! I have noticed him repeating this couple other times. I thought he must really be a sloth. I made fun of him. I loud-mouthed once to my teammates that I am going to take the stairs for four floors and beat them to it. The one-floor guy was around waiting for the lift in the lobby. I made sure he heard it loud and clear. 

A few months later, I joined the gym to bulk up. My romance with the gym as you guessed didn’t last long. But oh boy I didn’t give up so easily. I persisted for two months you see! The fifth day of my first week turned out to be legs day. I came out a chicken after the session. My legs seemed to sway in a different direction. Unfortunately, my gym was on the first floor. There was no lift service either. So, I had to walk down the stairs. Every inch of my muscle hurt. I couldn’t even think about climbing the stairs.

That very same day there was a meeting scheduled. But it was on the floor above mine. I thought I should take the lift and hoped that one-floor guy should be nowhere when I do this. But has anything ever gone my way? No! He was there with a laptop in his hand and, we entered the lift. We entered the lift. He pressed the button for floor six. I didn’t punch in any. He seemed confused and looked at me. We both went one floor up. And exited the lift. That guy gave me a smile. I was so hurt but returned a sheepish smile. But why did I do that? I was at the gym. I exercised my muscles. I earned it. Unlike him, I was not lazy!

"We judge others by their actions, and ourselves by our intentions" - Stephen Covey

Then something hit me. Was I unfair to that one-floor lift guy? Could he be facing some problems that made him act so? Indeed, I was rude to him. I judged him based on his action and ascribed it to his personality. I didn't consider the situation that may have influenced him to do so.  Turns out this phenomenon has a name– Fundamental Attribution Error. We tend to over-emphasize personality-based explanations for behaviours observed in others while under-emphasizing situation.