The Fundamental Attribution Error

It can seem almost natural to consider someone else's bad choices as an expression of their "core self", their character:

• That person does not volunteer as much because they are lazy
• That person is shortsighted and spends too much money
• That person is cheap because they spend no money

The logical fallacy here, though, is that when we are doing things that seem bad, we are doing them because of our circumstances and not our character:

• I'm not cheap, I just only spend on what is meaningful to me
• I'm not a bad friend, I just have a hard time reaching out
• I'm not lazy, I just enjoy relaxing and I'm introverted

This is the Fundamental attribution error, where "...observers underemphasize situational and environmental factors for the behavior of an actor while overemphasizing dispositional or personality factors...". In practice, this can show up in how we judge ourselves and others. When other people do "bad" things, they are "bad" people - but when WE do bad things, it is unintentional, it is not our fault, it is due to our circumstances.

This is a fallacy, an argument based on a miscalculation or misunderstanding.