The Fundamental Errors of Situationism

More about why the fundamental attribution error is overrated

In the previous part of this article, I examined Richard Nisbett’s claims that the fundamental attribution error-defined as overestimating the role of traits and underestimating the importance of situations-is a scientific concept that deserves to be more widely-known. I showed that this phenomenon is based on a false dichotomy between dispositions and situations in explaining behavior, and that the tendencies described by the fundamental attribution error have not actually been shown to be of…