Chapter Three: Social Cognition

The fundamental attribution error occurs when a person blames someone else's actions on their disposition, or personality. The fundamental attribution error also says that that same person, in the same situation, would not blame their disposition, but the situation, for their actions. And although some dispositions gravitate toward certain situations, those who always assume that the person's disposition is to blame, and not the situation, usually assume wrong (Kenrick, 80-1).

This clip from The Daily Show was set up to show "past" George W. Bush making a fundamental attribution error towards "current" Bush. However, it mainly shows how Bush is really making a fundamental attribution error towards Saddam Hussein. This is illustrated when Bush is shown imposing deadlines on Hussein in 2003, but when the time has come to impose deadlines on his war in Iraq, he turned around to say that deadlines are not useful and will do more harm than good. Bush also discusses how Hussein is giving America the "run around", dodging questions and answers. However, as the Daily Show points out, Bush has recently done the same things that he condemned Hussein for in the past. Bush assumed that it was Saddam Hussein's personal disposition that lead him to dodge questions, evade deadlines, and lie. But when the same accusations arise for Bush, he does not see his personality as responsible for his evasion, he sees the situation as the reason.




This second clip from The Daily Show also illustrates the fundamental attribution error. In this clip, Bush is shown giving a speech about how Senator John Kerry would not be a good Commander in Chief because he jumps to conclusions without knowing all the facts. Bush is making a dispositional inference in terms of Kerry, where he is assuming that Kerry's actions are a result of his personality alone. However, many would say that Bush himself jumped to conclusions without knowing all the facts when he went to war with Iraq. In this case, Bush would blame these accusations on situational causes, and he would say it had nothing to do with his personal disposition, especially when it came to his capacity to be a good Commander in Chief.