RESEARCH_FILE
Lee Ross
Stanford University
Known for:Naming and documenting the fundamental attribution error — the tendency to overweight personal disposition and underweight situational forces when judging others
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“What if no one buys this month”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“A pending deal is data on what's moving, not a paycheck I've already spent.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Open your CRM. Find one person you haven't reached in 30+ days. Send them a non-sales message with one question. Document that you did it. Notice whether you made contact from calm or from famine dread.
Key findings
- 1977
Observers systematically underestimate the impact of situational factors and overestimate the impact of personal disposition when explaining another person's behavior or outcomes — a bias Ross terms the 'fundamental attribution error'. The Intuitive Psychologist and His Shortcomings: Distortions in the Attribution Process ↗