What psychological effect occurs when individuals attribute their failures to external situations?

The psychological effect that occurs when individuals attribute their failures to external situations is known as self-effacing bias. This bias reflects a tendency for individuals, particularly in collectivist cultures, to downplay their own role in success while attributing their failures to situational factors or external influences. This can serve social cohesion by maintaining group harmony and avoiding individual blame.

In contrast to self-effacing bias, self-serving bias typically involves attributing personal successes to internal factors, such as one’s own abilities or efforts, while attributing failures to external circumstances. Attribution error generally refers to the broader concept of how people interpret their own or others’ behaviors, particularly the tendency to overemphasize personal characteristics and underestimate situational factors. Contextual bias involves the influence of surrounding context on perceptions or judgments but isn’t specifically about attributing failures to external situations.

Understanding self-effacing bias helps elucidate cultural differences in behavior and self-perception, especially in various social contexts.