![]() As a result, people feel it’s safe to infer the writer’s attitude from how persuasive an essay is. It seems that people assume that only writers with a corresponding attitude (i.e., an attitude matching the one presented) are able to write a highly persuasive essay on a given topic. ![]() One possible explanation for why participants fell for correspondence bias has to do with persuasion. ![]() Other studies have confirmed this phenomenon and found it to be independent of factors like participants’ personal attitudes or cultural differences. Surprisingly enough, researchers found that even when participants were told the writer hadn’t chosen which side they would be on, they still believed that the writer’s attitude corresponded with the one presented in the essay. After reading the essay, they were asked to infer the personal attitude of the fictitious “writer.” Some participants were told the writer had chosen to write for or against the topic in question, while others were told the writer was assigned a position. Example: Correspondence bias and awareness of external causesIn one experimental study, participants read short essays either in favor of, or against, a controversial topic like abortion, drug use, or a particular political leader. People tend to infer personality traits based on the behavior or actions of others, even when they are aware that external factors or constraints are at play. If this doesn’t happen, we draw negative conclusions about their personality (i.e., “they’re flaky” or “they don’t care about their friends”). Due to this, we expect others to behave as we (think we) would in that situation (e.g., “if I lost my phone, I would log on to my computer to answer my messages”). Because of our tendency to see things from our perspective (i.e., egocentric bias) we wrongly assume that others experience a situation exactly as we do. It is important to remember that correspondence bias happens even when we are aware of the situation a person is in. Because we can only observe some aspects of a situation (e.g., we are trying to reach our friend all day) and can’t observe others (e.g., that our friend has lost their phone), this leads to correspondence bias. When it comes to other people’s behavior, we tend to downplay the role of the situation and attribute static personality characteristics from what we observe. ![]() Some of these causes do lie within the individual (like their personality) but many lie outside (situational factors). What causes correspondence bias?Ĭorrespondence bias emerges from the way we explain the behavior of others, which has many possible causes. For example, if a friend doesn’t return our call, correspondence bias may cause us to think that our friend is (always!) an inconsiderate person, even if they forgot or are traveling for work. In other words, we assume other people’s actions correspond to their character, regardless of whether we are aware of the external causes of this behavior.Ĭorrespondence bias plays a role in the impressions we form of others, and can lead to erroneous assumptions about their character. According to correspondence bias, we tend to blame someone’s character for a particular behavior they are displaying, even when this behavior is influenced by situational factors. Frequently asked questions about correspondence biasĬorrespondence bias is a type of attribution bias that occurs when we try to explain the behavior of others.Because of correspondence bias, you are more likely to assume that they are a reckless driver, when perhaps it’s the case that they are rushing to the hospital.Īs a result, we are more likely to react negatively to people and hold them directly accountable for their actions, even if this may not be the case. Correspondence bias exampleYou are driving in heavy rain, and you notice another driver in your rearview window speeding and overtaking other cars. In other words, people are inclined to think that others’ actions reflect their personality. When we try to explain why people act in a certain way, we often focus on personality traits, underestimating the power of specific situations to lead to specific behaviors. Try for free What Is Correspondence Bias? | Definition & ExampleĬorrespondence bias is the tendency to form assumptions about a person’s character based on their behavior. Eliminate grammar errors and improve your writing with our free AI-powered grammar checker.
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