Self-serving bias is often observed in situations where an individual’s self-esteem is being threatened by negative outcomes, like in a sports event. Given that humans tend to be optimistic, this can explain why negative outcomes usually come as a surprise and we are more likely to deflect responsibility for them (this is related to optimism bias). In other words, if the result of an event is consistent with an individual’s expectation, then they will attribute this to internal factors, but if it is unexpected, they will likely use external attributions and blame the circumstances. Other researchers have proposed a different explanation, arguing that self-serving bias is related to how closely reality aligns with expectations. Combined with the need to protect our ego, the need to assign responsibility can explain why it’s easier for us to blame external circumstances for our failures. When we attribute someone’s dangerous driving to their poor driving skills (an internal factor), as opposed to an external factor like poor visibility on the road, we are also implicitly or explicitly placing the blame on them. When we make attributions, we are not only interested in what caused a certain outcome, but also in assigning responsibility. At the same time, it is an effective coping strategy that helps us reduce the emotional sting of undesirable outcomes. Taking credit for positive outcomes while attributing negative ones to external causes is a way to protect our self-esteem. Because of this, we default to seeing things in a way that favors ourselves, rather than others. One of the driving forces behind this bias is the (unconscious) need to feel good about ourselves. A number of theories can help explain why self-serving bias occurs: Self-serving bias is caused by several factors. Due to this, we tend to make external attributions when the outcome of our behavior is negative, while we tend to make internal ones when the outcome is positive.
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