We strive to understand why things happen to us and around us.  Understanding why events happen can help us respond to the event.  It’s important to have an accurate understanding of why the event happens so we can choose the appropriate response.  We can evaluate behavior in two ways.  We can attribute behavior to a person’s disposition or to external circumstances.
 
When we attribute behavior to someone’s disposition we believe they act they way they do because that’s who they are. For example, we may think, "Someone cut me off in traffic because they are mean and that’s what mean people do." When we focus on a person’s disposition we see their behavior as within their control.  When we attribute behavior to external circumstances we consider the context of a situation.  For example, we may think, "Someone cut me off in traffic not because they are mean and do rude things but because they are in a hurry to get to the hospital, they have to use the bathroom, their child is in danger, or maybe they didn’t see me."  When we focus on external circumstances we see behavior as out of a person’s control.  
 
How we evaluate behavior can be skewed due to a phenomenon known as attribution bias.  We over-attribute someone else’s behavior to their disposition and under-attribute behavior to circumstances.  When we look at our behavior we over emphasize circumstances and under emphasize our disposition.  Mis-attributing the cause of someone’s behavior can lead you to reacting inappropriately and putting undo stress on your relationship.
 
How we evaluate behavior is a skill that we’ve learned over the years and has been reinforced by our experiences.  At Equilibria Psychological and Consultation Services, we have experienced therapists that work with individuals to help them examine their biases.  Our therapists help individuals to become aware of their bias and learn to make more appropriate evaluations of situations in order to make better decisions. Please do not hesitate to contact us at 267-861-3685 for more information about how we can help.