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Self-serving bias | Cognitive psychology | Hueristic


By Khaiyam Khalid:

self-serving bias

Pic says: “our failures are situational but our successes are our responsibility. You won that award due to hard work rather than the help of luck meanwhile you failed a task because you hadn’t gotten enough sleep”

Self-serving cognitive bias
Blaming others on failure
 

Order:

 

1: what is?


You better knew the definition of the picture’s words.


In other words: Attributing positive events and success to our enteral character, ability and actions but blaming negative results on external factors unrelated to us in any way.

 

2: Elaboration:


In four points:


  • It’s almost everyone’s habitual act to take credit for positive events, successes, reaching destinations and covering goals. Like you say I won the match because I’m a great Player.


  • On another hand when we face any disappointing condition, negative results or situations then we don’t think it happened because of us, I’m responsible for that, we keep blaming outside factors. Like you say I lose the match because it was a bad day.


  • our minds neglect to reflect on actual reasons and come up with fiction which might don’t relate to us at all.


  • It tends to occur widely across populations.

 

3: Example:


I give you three examples:


1. Won the match because of my ability.

2. Lose the match because it’s a bad day.

3. Won the match because of luck/lose the match because of me. (It is inverting the bias, I will explain it after so just focus on two examples given up)

 

4: Explanation:


Formerly we need to understand the LOC.

LOC: Locus of control.


Its refers to our belief system of mind about conducting attributions and causing events, as it happens because of that.


In simple words:


1: mind makes causes and reasons for something.


Like winning the match or losing it. So your mind will make a reason like they won the match because of that player.


2: The reasons your mind makes could be internal (ability/character..) and also can be external (bad day/lack of sleep...).


So the reason your mind makes is the locus of control. That the reason is internal or external on which events are based.


That’s why it has two types:


1: Internal LOC

2: External LOC


Internal LOC


Attaching events to yourself, whether it’s your character, ability or merits.


The persons with internal LOC will tag their events to themselves as I won because of me.


External LOC


Assigning events to the external and outsiders, like luck or something.


People who have external LOC, won’t credit events their selves like they won the match because of luck.

Now! Self-serving bias is all about causing events which are based on LOC, so this bias will that it happened because of internal/external reasons, that’s why it has two sides which I told you about in the third example:


1: uprising the bias.

2: inverting the bias.


Up-righting the bias:


Attributing positive events to yourself and opposite it in negatives.


Inverting the bias:


Crediting positive events to externals, like luck, help, situation... And reasoning negative events to yourself, like you lose because of yourself.


Usually, depression and low self-esteem cause to invert this bias.


This kind of person is introvert meanwhile up-risers might want to display their achievements.


Brightening side of bias


Incitation (motivation) to the bias is that it impulse (motivates) self-enhancement and self-presentation.


1. Self-enhancement


Improving yourself-worth and esteem.

If you use this bias, it will keep your self-enhancement up, like umpire outs you in a match and you hear bad pitches but this bias will empower you and you will think that the umpire is unfair and I’m still a great player.


The same in the exam results, maybe you got C or you didn’t get an A but you think it matters nothing you are more than anyone else.


So the thought “I’m a great player” and “I’m more than everyone” is the lightning side of this bias which will make you feel the worth of yourself and it will save you from emotional inferiority.


2. Self-presentation


It’s all about the desire to appear in front of people and show your skill without any hesitation. It’s helpful to beautify your self-image and sshowit in the outside world.

I lose the running match because I hadn’t got enough sleep, so when I’m fully ready I can defeat anyone.


Other considerable factors

“Men are from Mars and women are from Jupiter”


There’s nothing to light-up the gender and sex differences, as the books describe.


The bias could play a different role in men in comparison to women, because of our opposed desires, feelings, emotions, and mind systems.


Old and young:


Bias is common with youngers because of excessive emotional nerves and lack of experience. But it might less prevalent in older adults due to experiences the life but again they also could have strong vibes of this bias because of the tendency of judging accurately.


Culture: culture also determines the factors of this bias.


How it overcomes?

Because of the lack of responsible vibes.

 

5: Effects:


Disadvantages of the bias in:


  • Belief: the most dangerous.

  • Social: it deforms the relations.


Suppose if students always think that the teachers are unfair then the bond and relation among teachers and students will be dark, and eventually the education will die.


  • Money 💰💸: suppose if you don’t be responsible in your business disasters then you will be bankrupt very soon. Because you will never know the actual reasons behind troubles and keep blaming outsiders.


  • It also calls narcissism.

 

6: How to avoid it?


Very simple: be responsible!


1 Comment


Khadija
Khadija
Jan 22, 2023

It was a good article

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