Actor-Observer Text Message

The actor-observer effect is that when we act, we attribute our own actions to the situation we are in, whereas when we observe others, we believe their actions reflect on who they are as people (Heider, 1958; Nisbett et al.,1973) The actor-observer effect is one of many attributional biases (Nisbett et al.,1973). As introduced in Heider (1958) we explain behavior with either situation attribution or personal attribution. 

 

Situational attributions view actions as a result of forces outside of the individual actor (Heider, 1958). For example, someone could be in a bad mood because they were hungry, got cut off in traffic, or were worried for a loved one in the hospital. Personal attributions view actions as a result of the actor’s mental characteristics (Heider, 1958). Someone might take the last slice of pizza without asking first because they are selfish. If they stopped to help someone with a flat tire, they must be a kind person. 

 

I experience this effect often in my daily life. My close friend and I used to hang out in her dorm before she graduated from Southwestern. Once, I texted her about weekend plans, and she never replied. As more time passed, I wondered if she preferred not to spend time with me. Everything seemed normal when we were together in person, so I steered the conversation so that I could ask her about going to an event together and figure out why she had not responded to the text about it. She was confused when I mentioned that I had texted her. 

Then, she quickly explained that her phone had been increasingly unreliable. Some glitch had been preventing the texts and calls from getting delivered to her. I have had cases of incoming texts not showing up for days, though this was rare. On the other hand, my own phone works well. Yet, I can take days, or even weeks to reply to texts. I have plenty of excuses for it. My schedule was busy, it might wake them up if I texted them late at night, and I needed time to figure out how I wanted to reply. Me blaming my circumstances for my poor track record of replying to texts is an example of situational attribution (Heider, 1958). As the actor, I felt that my actions reflected an exhausting schedule, not a disinterest in my friends. As the observer, however, I was quick to find a personal attribution for my friend’s texting behavior (Heider, 1958).) This difference in my attributions of myself and my friends is a clear example of the actor-observer effect (Nisbett et al.,1973).

 

 

n = 434

 

Honor Code: I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this work and am unaware of anyone who has not. /s/ Ellie Munson

 

 

 

References

 

Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. John Wiley & Sons Inc. https://doi.org/10.1037/10628-000

 

Nisbett, R. E., Caputo, C., Legant, P., & Marecek, J. (1973). Behavior as seen by the actor and as seen by the observer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(2), 154-164. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034779