Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction?
Abstract
A review of the evidence for and against the proposition that self-serving biases affect attributions of causality indicated that there is little empirical support for the proposition in its most general form. The literature provides some support for the contention that individuals engage in self-enhancin g attributions under conditions of success, but only minimal evidence was found to suggest that individuals engage in self-protecti ve attributions under conditions of failure. Moreover, it was proposed that the self-enhancing effect may not be due to motivational distortion, but rather to the tendency of people (a) to expect their behavior to produce success, (b) to discern a closer covariation between behavior and outcomes in the case of increasing success than in the case of constant failure, and (c) to misconstrue the meaning of contingency. We are prone to alter our perception of causality so as to protect or enhance our self esteem. We attribute success to our own dispositions and failure to external forces. (Hastorf, Schneider, & Polefka, 1970,
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According to the self-serving bias, the human operator would likely distort the trust adjustment process to maintain self-esteem, by appreciating the correct recommendation less than they should have done in Pattern 3.
“According to the self-serving bias, the human operator would likely distort the trust adjustment process to maintain self-esteem, by appreciating the correct recommendation less than they should have done in Pattern 3.”
From Toward Quantifying Trust Dynamics: How People Adjust Their Trust After Moment-to-Moment Interaction With Automation (2023) · cites this paper as Miller & Ross, 1975
Studies have largely relied on self-report data and individuals may be biassed in their views about the problem and attribute failures to external rather than internal factors.
“studies have largely relied on self-report data and individuals may be biassed in their views about the problem and attribute failures to external (environment or other people) rather than internal (ability, effort) factors [51,52].”
From A guide to using the Theoretical Domains Framework of behaviour change to investigate implementation problems (2017) · cites this paper as [51]
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“For example, people often rate themselves as being better than average (Dunning et al., 1989), and attribute failure to uncontrollable external factors while claiming credit for success (Miller & Ross, 1975).”
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- Authors
- Miller, D. T., & Ross, M.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- ORCID
- Miller, Dale T.
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 1975-03
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 213-225
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W2068994370
- Cited by
- 2,575
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 68 · 2025: 98 · 2024: 103 · 2023: 82 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 77 · 2020: 77 · 2019: 84 · 2018: 72 · 2017: 85 · 2016: 77 · 2015: 90 · 2014: 62 · 2013: 67 · 2012: 70
- FWCI
- 139.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Keywords
- self-serving bias, causal attribution, success and failure, self-esteem, covariation, attribution theory
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