Actor–observer asymmetry

Actor–observer asymmetry (also actor–observer bias) explains the errors that one makes when forming attributions about the
behavior of others (Jones & Nisbett 1971). When people judge their own behavior, and they are the actor, they are more likely to
attribute their actions to the particular situation than to a generalization about their personality
. Yet when an observer is explaining the
behavior of another person (the actor), they are more likely to attribute this behavior to the actors’ overall disposition rather than to
situational factors. This frequent error shows the bias that people hold in their evaluations of behavior (Miller & Norman 1975).
Because people are better acquainted with the situational (external) factors affecting their own decisions, they are more likely to see
their own behavior as affected by the social situation they are in. However, because the situational effects of anothers' behavior are
less accessible to the observer, observers see the actor's behavior as influenced more by the actor's overall personality. The actor-
observer asymmetry is a component of theultimate attribution error.

This term falls under "attribution" or "attribution theory". The specific hypothesis of an actor-observer asymmetry in attribution
(explanations of behavior) was originally proposed by Jones and Nisbett (1971), when they claimed that "actors tend to attribute the
causes of their behavior to stimuli inherent in the situation, while observers tend to attribute behavior to stable dispositions of the
actor” (Jones & Nisbett 1971, p. 93). Supported by initial evidence, the hypothesis was long held as firmly established, describing a
robust and pervasive phenomenon ofsocial cognition.

However, a meta-analysis of all the published tests of the hypothesis between 1971 and 2004 (Malle 2006) yielded a contradictory
finding: there was no actor-observer asymmetry of the sort Jones & Nisbett (1971) had proposed. Malle (2006) interpreted this result
not so much as proof that actors and observers explained behavior exactly the same way but as evidence that the original hypothesis
was fundamentally flawed in the way it framed people's explanations of behavior—namely, as attributions to either stable
dispositions or to the situation. Against the background of a different theory of explanation, Malle et al. (2007) tested an alternative
set of three actor-observer asymmetries and found consistent support for all of them. Thus, the actor-observer asymmetry does not
exist in one theoretical formulation (traditional attribution theory) but does exist in the new alternative theoretical formulation. Malle
(2011) argues that this favors the alternative theoretical formulation, but current textbooks have not yet fully addressed this
theoretical challenge.

Considerations of actor-observer differences can be found in other disciplines as well, such as philosophy (e.g. privileged access,
, and political science.[1]
incorrigibility), management studies, artificial intelligence, semiotics, anthropology

Contents
Background and initial formulation
Early evidence and reception
Recent evidence
Theoretical reformulation
Implications
Cultural differences
Related but distinct concepts
Actor-observer "bias"
Self-serving bias
Positivity bias
Correspondence bias
See also
References
 Bibliography
Early research
Later research
On cultural differences

Background and initial formulation

The background of this hypothesis was in the 1960s, with social psychology's increasing interest in the cognitive mechanisms by
which people make sense of their own and other people's behavior. This interest was instigated by Fritz Heider's (1958) book, The
Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, and the research in its wake has become known as "attribution research" or "attribution
theory."

The specific hypothesis of an "actor–observer asymmetry" was first proposed by social psychologists Jones and Nisbett in 1971.
Jones and Nisbett hypothesized that these two roles (actors and observers) produce asymmetric explanations.[2] Their research
findings showed that “there is pervasive tendency for actors to attribute their actions to situational requirements, whereas observers
tend to attribute the same actions to stable personal dispositions”.[2] For example, a student who studies hard for an exam is likely to
explain her own (the actor's) intensive studying by referring to the upcoming difficult exam (a situational factor), whereas other
people (the observers) are likely to explain her studying by referring to her dispositions, such as being hardworking or ambitious.

Early evidence and reception

Soon after the publication of the actor-observer hypothesis, numerous research studies tested its validity, most notably the first such
test by Nisbett et al. (1973). The authors found initial evidence for the hypothesis, and so did Storms (1973), who also examined one
possible explanation of the hypothesis: that actors explain their behaviors by reference to the situation because they attend to the
situation (not to their own behaviors) whereas observers explain the actor's behavior by reference to the actor's dispositions because
they attend to the actor's behavior (not to the situation). Based largely on this initial supporting evidence, the confidence in the
hypothesis became uniformly high. The asymmetry was described as “robust and quite general”,[3] "firmly established"[4] and “an
entrenched part of scientific psychology”.[5] Likewise, evidence for the asymmetry was considered to be "plentiful”[6] and
“pervasive”.[7]

Recent evidence
Over 100 studies have been published since 1971 in which the hypothesis was put to further tests (often in the context of testing
another hypothesis about causal attributions). Malle (2006) examined this entire literature in a meta-analysis, which is a robust way
of identifying consistent patterns of evidence regarding a given hypothesis across a broad set of studies. The result of this analysis
was stunning: across 170 individual tests, the asymmetry practically did not exist. (The average effect sizes, computed in several
accepted ways, ranged from d = -0.016 to d = 0.095; corrected for publication bias, the average effect size was 0.) Under
circumscribed conditions(i.e. if the actor was portrayed as highly idiosyncratic, or in negative events), it could sometimes be found,
but under other conditions, the opposite was found. The conclusion was that the widely held assumption of an actor-observer
asymmetry in attribution was false.[8]

In contrast to the Malle (2006) article, other research has shown a strong presence of the actor-observer asymmetry even in instances
with familiar people. Krueger et al. (1996) conducted a study on pairs of university dorm roommates who liked and knew one another
well. The researchers aimed for familiar pairs of participants was to discover whether or not actor-observer asymmetry existed in
conditions that might atypically work against it. Previous literature suggests that actor-observer asymmetry would not be present in
situations where the actors and the observers were familiar with each other, which is why Krueger and colleagues wanted to perform
the study with familiar pairs. Each participant answered three questionnaires where the final scores were weighed against each other
in order to understand the presence of actor-observer asymmetry. The results showed that gender did not affect the findings, so
whether or not the pairs were the same or opposite sex was not a mediator for the data. The researchers found that actors were aware
of the actor-observer asymmetry, but the observers were not, which is typically what happens in everyday life. Krueger and
colleagues showed another side to the actor-observer asymmetry, wherein it is present even among familiar people.

Even more recent evidence was published on the social acceptability of actions and the speed with which an observer’s perception of
an actor’s moral character are determined and affected by actor-observer asymmetry. Critcher et al. (2012) conducted two
experiments in order to support the idea that an immoral action is quickly followed by a negative evaluation of the actor’s moral
character by the observer. On the other hand, a morally good decision by an actor is readily given a positive evaluation of that actor’s
moral character. This is due to the fact that actions are observed as having been made with a degree of certainty and intentionality on
the part of the actor, and more distinct motives are the underlying cause of these actions, thus creating more contrasted evaluations of
the actor by the observer.

Theoretical reformulation
The result of the meta-analysis implied that, across the board, actors and observers explain behaviors the same way. But all the tests
of the classic hypothesis presupposed that people explain behavior by referring to "dispositional" vs. "situational" causes. This
assumption turned out to be incorrect for the class of behavioral events that people explain most frequently in real life (Malle &
Knobe 1997): intentional behaviors (e.g., buying a new car, making a mean comment). People explain unintentional behaviors in
ways that the traditional disposition-situation framework can capture, but they explain intentional behaviors by using very different
concepts (Buss, 1978; Heider 1958).[9] A recent empirical theory of how people explain behavior was proposed and tested by
Malle (1999, 2004), centering on the postulate that intentional behaviors are typically explained by reasons—the mental states
(typically beliefs and desires) in light of which and on the grounds of which the agent decided to act (a postulate long discussed in the
philosophy of action). But people who explain intentional behavior have several choices to make, and the theory identifies the
psychological antecedents and consequences of these choices:

a. giving either reason explanations or "causal history of reason (CHR) explanations" (which refer to background
factors such as culture, personality, or context—causal factors that brought about the agent's reasons but were not
themselves reasons to act);
b. giving either desire reasons or belief reasons;
c. linguistically marking a belief reason with its mental state verb (e.g., "She thought that..."; "He assumes that...").
[10]
Empirical studies have so far supported this theoretical framework.

Within this framework, the actor-observer asymmetry was then reformulated as in fact consisting of three asymmetries: that actors
offer more reason explanations (relative to CHR explanations) than observers do; that actors offer more belief reasons (relative to
desire reasons) than observers do; and that actors use fewer belief reason markers than observers do (Malle 1999). Malle et al. (2007)
tested these asymmetries across 9 studies and found consistent support for them. In the same studies they also tested the classic
person/disposition vs. situation hypothesis and consistently found no support for it.

Thus, people do seem to explain their own actions differently from how they explain other people's actions. But these differences do
not lie in a predominance of using "dispositional" vs. "situational" causes. Only when people's explanations are separated into
theoretically meaningful distinctions (e.g., reasons vs. causal history of reason explanations) do the dif
ferences emerge.

In addition, an alternate theory has been proposed called the folk-conceptual theory.[11][12] In contrast to the actor-observer
asymmetry, it posits that people's explanations of behavior varies based on three key parameters (these parameters being: use of
reason explanations vs. causal history explanations, use of belief reasons vs. desire reasons, and the use of mental state markers).

Implications
The choices of different explanations for intentional behavior (reasons, belief reasons, etc.) indicate particular psychological
functions. Reasons, for example, appear to reflect (among other things) psychological closeness. People increase reason explanations
(relative to CHR explanations) when they explain their own rather than another person's behavior (Malle et al. 2007), when they
portray another person in a positive light (Malle et al. 2007), and when they explain behaviors of nonhuman agents for whom they
have ownership and affection (e.g., a pet fish; Kiesler, Lee & Kramer 2006). Conversely, people use fewer reasons and more CHR
explanations when explaining behaviors of collectives or aggregate groups (O'Laughlin & Malle 2002). Actor-observer asymmetries
can therefore be seen as part of a broader continuum of psychological distance people have to various kinds of minds (their own,
others', groups', animals' etc.).

Cultural differences
Cultural differences may impact how certain behaviors or actions are attributed and interpreted. Current research supports the idea
that Western culture emphasizes individualism, whereas East Asian cultures emphasize collectivism. Individualistic cultures focus on
the object and attribute behavior to an overall disposition within a situation, whereas collectivist cultures focus on the context and
external factors that influence behavior. Masuda & Nisbett (2001)found when viewing an underwater scene Americans focused more
on fish in the foreground and the direction they were swimming within the tank than the background of the environment. This
supports the idea that Americans are more like to attribute behavior to dispositional cue that are directly present in the environment or
foreground. This is opposed to Japanese participants who focused on the fish, but additionally focused on the background of the
environment (plants, other animals). This shows how people from East Asian cultures are more likely to attribute behavior to both
dispositional and situational cues in the environment. In addition, Choi & Nisbett (2008) found that when situational constraints of
participants in an experiment were made more salient that only the East Asian participants had an increased perception of the
situational constraints and made their judgments accordingly. This is opposed to North American participants who showed little to no
change in perception of the situational constraints as they were made more salient.

Related but distinct concepts

Actor-observer "bias"
Instead of speaking of a hypothesis of an actor-observer asymmetry, some textbooks and research articles speak of an "actor-observer
bias." The term "bias" is typically used to imply that one of the explainers (either the actor or the observer) is biased or incorrect in
their explanations. But which one—the actor or the observer—is supposed to be incorrect is not clear from the literature. On the one
hand, Ross's (1977) hypothesis of a "fundamental attribution error" suggests that observers are incorrect, because they show a general
tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations and underemphasize situational ones.[13] On the other hand, Nisbett and
Wilson (1977) argued that actors don't really know the true causes of their actions (the so-called "introspection illusion") and often
merely invent plausible explanations.[14] Jones & Nisbett (1971) themselves did not commit to calling the hypothesized actor-
observer asymmetry a bias or an error. Similarly, recent theoretical positions consider asymmetries not a bias, but rather the result of
[15][16]
multiple cognitive and motivational differences that fundamentally exist between actors and observers.

Self-serving bias
The actor-observer asymmetry is often confused with the hypothesis of a self-serving bias in attribution — the claim that people
choose explanations in a strategic way so as to make themselves appear in a more positive light. The important difference between
the two hypotheses is that the assumed actor-observer asymmetry is expected to hold for all events and behaviors (whether they are
positive or negative) and require a specific comparison between actor explanations and observer explanations. The self-serving bias is
often formulated as a complete reversal in actors' and observers' explanation tendencies as a function of positive vs. negative
events.[17] In traditional attribution terms, this means that for positive events (e.g., getting an A on an exam), actors will select
explanations that refer to their own dispositions, (e.g., "I am smart") whereas observers will select explanations that refer to the
actor's situation (e.g., "The test was easy"); however, for negative events (e.g., receiving an F on the exam), actors will select
explanations that refer to the situation, (e.g., "The test was impossibly hard") whereas observers will select explanations that refer to
the actor's dispositions (e.g., "She is not smart enough").

Positivity bias
The actor-observer asymmetry can seem similar to the hypothesis of a positivity bias in attribution- the claim that people are biased
toward favorable evaluations. This hypothesis states that people will attribute their behavior with positive consequences to internal
factors and their behavior with negative consequences to external factors.[18] The positivity bias is described in terms of the actors
attributions of their own behavior. This means that people will attribute their behavior which received a positive consequence (passes
their driving test and receiving their drivers license) to an internal factor (I really know the material). However, people will attribute
their behavior in which they received a negative consequence (failing a driving test) to an external factor (the sun was in my eyes).

Correspondence bias
Observers attribute actions of others to their future behavior. Witnessing one’s actions brings the witness to attribute those same
actions to that person’s future behavior. This explains why first impressions are so important to us. Once an action is seen, it is hard
for the observer to imagine any other differing behaviors from the actor. However, on the other hand, it is hard for actors to attribute
one action they have made to their whole behavior. They view themselves as more responsive, and therefore believe themselves to be
in control of all situational matters. As the actor can attribute every action in the past he/she has done, the observer can only attribute
.[19]
the one action that is witnessed to that actor.Therefore, will attribute dispositional, rather than situational means to the actor

See also
Attribution (psychology)
Fundamental attribution error
List of biases in judgment and decision making
Self-serving bias

References
1. See Malle et al. 2007 for relevant references.
2. Jones & Nisbett 1971, p. 80.
3. Jones, Edward E. (1976). "How Do People Perceive the Causes of Behavior? Experiments based on attribution
theory offer some insights into how actors and observers differ in viewing the causal structure of their social world".
American Scientist. 64 (3): 300–305. JSTOR 27847255 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/27847255).
4. Watson, David (1982). "The actor and the observer: How are their perceptions of causality divergent?".
Psychological Bulletin. 92 (3): 682–700. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.92.3.682(https://doi.org/10.1037%2F0033-2909.92.
3.682). Page 698.
5. Robins et al. 1996, p. 376.
6. Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991). Social Cognition (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 73.
7. Aronson, E. (2011). The Social Animal (https://books.google.com/books?id=9mMdBQAAQBAJ&pg=P
A166) (11th
ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. p. 166. ISBN 9781429233415.
8. Malle 2006, p. 895.
9. Buss, Allan (1978). "Causes and reasons in attribution theory: A conceptual critique".
Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology. 36 (11): 1311–1321. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.36.11.1311(https://doi.org/10.1037%2F0022-3514.
36.11.1311).
10. For a review, see Malle 2011.
11. Kiesler, Lee & Kramer 2006.
12. Malle 2011.
13. Ross, Lee (1977). "The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process".
Advances
in Experimental Social Psychology. 10. pp. 173–220. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60357-3(https://doi.org/10.1016%
2FS0065-2601%2808%2960357-3).
14. Nisbett, Richard E.; Wilson, Timothy D. (1977). "Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental
processes". Psychological Review. 84 (3): 231–259. doi:10.1037/0033-295x.84.3.231(https://doi.org/10.1037%2F00
33-295x.84.3.231).
15. Malle et al. 2007, p. 508.
16. Robins et al. 1996, p. 387.
17. Malle 2006, p. 896.
18. Van der Pligt, Joop (1983). "Actors' and Observers' attributions, self-serving bias and positivity bias".European
Journal of Social Psychology. 13 (1): 95–104. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420130107(https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fejsp.24201
30107).
19. Gilbert, Daniel; Malone, Patrick (1995). "The correspondence bias".Psychological Bulletin. 117 (1): 21–38.
doi:10.1037/0033-2909.117.1.21(https://doi.org/10.1037%2F0033-2909.117.1.21) . PMID 7870861 (https://www.ncb
i.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7870861).

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On cultural differences

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