Actor Observer Bias - Definition & Examples

The tendency to attribute one's own actions to external factors while attributing others' actions to their character.

When you fail an exam, you blame the confusing questions or insufficient study time. When a classmate fails, you assume they're not very smart or didn't try hard enough. The same outcome is attributed to circumstances for yourself but character for others.
A manager explains their own short temper at work as due to stress and tight deadlines, but views an employee's similar behavior as indicating a "bad attitude." Situational explanations for self, dispositional explanations for others.

Note

First identified by Jones and Nisbett in 1972. Related to the Fundamental Attribution Error but specifically concerns the self-other asymmetry.

This is a common bias

Actor-Observer Bias