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The Incentives Lab
HBT-SOC-0014 · Dimension SOC · Social

Fundamental Attribution Error

Their failure: character. Our failure: situation.

Social Bias·Cognitive Bias·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Their failure: character. Our failure: situation.

Plain-English Definition

Their failure: character. Our failure: situation.

Feynman Explanation

They're disorganized. We're under-resourced.

Core Principle

Their failure: character. Our failure: situation.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Their failure: character. Our failure: situation.

Behavioral Economic

Pending editorial review.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Pending editorial review.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

They're disorganized. We're under-resourced.

Examples

Everyday
  • A missed deadline is lazy when they do it and complex when we do it.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Performance management mistakes context for character.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Default to system explanations before personality ones.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Frontline AI resistance read as fear instead of accurate signal about broken workflows.
Amplifying Incentives
Performance management mistakes context for character.
Org Failure Modes
Performance management mistakes context for character.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Default to system explanations before personality ones.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Default to system explanations before personality ones.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Default to system explanations before personality ones.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Frontline AI resistance read as fear instead of accurate signal about broken workflows.
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-SOC-0014 · SOC
Fundamental Attribution Error
FAABAuthority BiasBEBandwagon EffectBPBikeshedding (Parkin…BEBystander EffectCCCommitment & Consist…COCurse of KnowledgeFCFalse Consensus EffectGEGolem EffectHEHalo EffectIBIn-Group Bias

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.