Describe the role of culture in the fundamental attribution ...

[Lobcity]

Describe the role of culture in the fundamental attribution error. How prevalent is this error across cultures, and why do these differences exist?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Recall the cross-cultural differences in the self-serving bias between Eastern and Western cultures. Describe the differences, and provide an example of how someone in China might attribute a failure compared to someone from Canada.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[mistyjohnson]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: People in Western cultures such as the U.S., Western Europe, Canada, and Australia tend to commit the FAE more often than those in Eastern cultures such as Japan, Korea, and China. The reasons for this are that in Eastern cultures, the norms and values are such that people tend to look to the situation to explain another person's behavior. However, in Western cultures, norms and values such as independence have influenced perceptions such that people tend to more readily make dispositional attributions. It should be noted that some studies have found no cultural differences in terms of likelihood of committing the FAE/Fundamental attribution error.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: In Eastern cultures, people tend to make more internal attributions about their failures, but external attributions about their successes. It is just the opposite in Western cultures, such that people tend to make more internal attributions about others' behavior, but more situational attributions about their own behavior. An example of an attribution a Chinese person is likely to make about failure would be internal and answers might include: I was lazy; I am not very smart; I didn't try very hard. A Canadian would be more likely to make external attributions for failure. Examples of attributions include: I didn't have time to do a good job; other people were distracting me; I was sick.