Thread: The Fundamental Attribution Error in politics

The "Fundamental Attribution Error" is a psychological term which describes the tendency of people to associate the behavior of others with internal characteristics while ignoring the influence of external factors.
A classic example is with "road rage". Our reaction to another driver who does something unsafe and/or that upsets us is to think: "That person's a jerk" or "They don't know how to drive" and so on. We jump to these conclusions because we don't really have any information to go on other than how they're driving. Maybe they're late to a funeral, or they got stung by a bee, or their wife is giving birth, or they are student drivers, or they're having an asthma attack, or they are drunk, suicidal, overjoyed, furious, tired, and so forth to infinite. But we have no way of knowing any of this so we just label them and move on.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in 'toddler politics', (excepting racism and prejudice.)
If I criticize the Bush administration it's not because I actually am trying to convey a legitimate criticism, but because I'm anti-Bush. I engage in Bush-bashing for its own sake. If I come to a conclusion about anything remotely partisan, it's not because I've studied the issue at hand, it's because I'm a democrat or a republican. Labeling is intellectually convenient, as one doesn't have to address the issue at hand but rather deflects its importance through partisan shielding.
Political labeling is necessary, but only to the extent that one realizes one is doing it. People are NOT liberal or conservative. They can be CHARACTERIZED as liberal or conservative, which is still fairly inaccurate because liberalism or conservatism are not intrinsic character traits.
If I say I am avowedly Jewish, and Christian, and Muslim, what does it mean? If I advocate pacifism but support private gun ownership, what does it mean? If I am a soldier who questions orders, what does it mean? If I plant 500 miniature American flags in a watermelon, what does it mean?

Originally Posted by Elvis

The "Fundamental Attribution Error" is a psychological term which describes the tendency of people to associate the behavior of others with internal characteristics while ignoring the influence of external factors.
A classic example is with "road rage". Our reaction to another driver who does something unsafe and/or that upsets us is to think: "That person's a jerk" or "They don't know how to drive" and so on. We jump to these conclusions because we don't really have any information to go on other than how they're driving. Maybe they're late to a funeral, or they got stung by a bee, or their wife is giving birth, or they are student drivers, or they're having an asthma attack, or they are drunk, suicidal, overjoyed, furious, tired, and so forth to infinite. But we have no way of knowing any of this so we just label them and move on. [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/FRANKM%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]

Nowhere is this more obvious than in 'toddler politics', (excepting racism and prejudice.)
If I criticize the Bush administration it's not because I actually am trying to convey a legitimate criticism, but because I'm anti-Bush. I engage in Bush-bashing for its own sake. If I come to a conclusion about anything remotely partisan, it's not because I've studied the issue at hand, it's because I'm a democrat or a republican. Labeling is intellectually convenient, as one doesn't have to address the issue at hand but rather deflects its importance through partisan shielding.
Political labeling is necessary, but only to the extent that one realizes one is doing it. People are NOT liberal or conservative. They can be CHARACTERIZED as liberal or conservative, which is still fairly inaccurate because liberalism or conservatism are not intrinsic character traits.
If I say I am avowedly Jewish, and Christian, and Muslim, what does it mean? If I advocate pacifism but support private gun ownership, what does it mean? If I am a soldier who questions orders, what does it mean? If I plant 500 miniature American flags in a watermelon, what does it mean?

WTF?:therethere:

Do you have any questions, Sgt.?