Luke sees Gary sleeping at his desk in their 8am class and immediately thinks, "That guy must be lazy." Assuming that Luke is mistaken and doesn't realize that Gary has noisy neighbors keeping him awake all night, which bias is Luke most likely showing here?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: Luke observes Gary sleeping in class and quickly concludes that Gary is lazy. The scenario specifies that Luke is mistaken and unaware of Gary's noisy neighbors that kept him up all night, implying a situational factor behind Gary's behavior.
Option 1: 'Confirmation bias' — This would involve favoring information that confirms preexisting beliefs. In the described scenario, Luke is not shown as selectively seeking confirming evidence; he is simply making a dispositional judgment about Gary without gathering relevant situational data, so this bias is not the best fit.
Option 2: 'Cultural differences' — This would refer to variations in thinking or behavior across cultures. The scenario does not involve cross-cultural interpretation or differing norms, so this option misapplies a different kind of bias.
Option 3: 'Self-serving attribution bias' — This bias involves attributing one’s own successes to internal factors and failures to external factors, or attributing others’ failures to internal factors while maintaining one’s own favorable view. The example centers on Luke’s judgment of Gary, not on Luke’s own outcomes, so this option does not correctly describe the situation.
Option 4: 'Fundamental attribution error' — This bias occurs when we attribute someone else’s behavior to their stable personality or disposition (e.g., laziness) while underestimating or ignoring situational factors (e.g., neighbor noise). In the scenario, Luke attributes Gary’s behavior (being asleep in class) to laziness, without recognizing the possible situational cause (noisy neighbors), which precisely matches fundamental attribution error.
In summary, the reasoning behind selecting fundamental attribution error is that Luke makes a dispositional judgment about Gary without considering the circumstantial factors that could explain the behavior, illustrating a classic fundamental attribution error.

PSYCH 3325 AU2025 (37320) Exam 1

Luke sees Gary sleeping at his desk in their 8am class and immediately thinks, "That guy must be lazy." Assuming that Luke is mistaken and doesn't realize that Gary has noisy neighbors keeping him awake all night, which bias is Luke most likely showing here?

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PSYCH 3325 AU2025 (37320) Exam 1

Luke sees Gary sleeping at his desk in their 8am class and immediately thinks, "That guy must be lazy." Assuming that Luke is mistaken and doesn't realize that Gary has noisy neighbors keeping him awake all night, which bias is Luke most likely showing here?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

You hear that your neighbor's eight-year old son, Billy, was involved in a fight at recess. You don't know Billy very well, and, as you try to explain his behavior, you commit the Fundamental Attribution Error when you say __________________________________.

Vikas, who averages two touchdowns a game for his football team, did not score a touchdown in today’s game. The other players believe that he was “slacking off,” but in reality he was playing despite an injury. Vikas’ teammates have committed

When people commit the Fundamental Attribution Error when judging the behavior of others, they tend to overemphasize ____ and underemphasize ___.

The tendency for people to overemphasize personality and underestimate the situation when making attributions about others is referred to as

When a manager makes the attribution that an employee's lack of effort or ability is the reason for poor performance, they are probably making an error called:

Tim's new roommate Jaxon leaves dirty laundry all over his room, and Tim assumes Jaxon must be a slob. Tim ignores the fact that Jaxon is currently studying for finals and working 30 hours per week. Tim is demonstrating:

While driving down the freeway, Lucille assumes that the driver who cut her off while switching lanes is an inconsiderate person, without considering that the driver may have been rushing to the hospital after learning of a family member’s emergency. What has Lucille engaged in?

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