Members of a student team in Professor Miller's organizational behavior class have approached her with a problem.The team members are complaining that Ben,a member of their team,has been late or absent for almost all team meetings and therefore should receive a lower grade on the team project.Professor Miller concludes that Ben had the same opportunity to participate as everyone else on the team,and therefore assigned the lower grade without consulting Ben.In this decision,Professor Miller may have demonstrated:
A) projection
B) the self-serving bias
C) the self-fulfilling prophecy
D) the fundamental attribution error

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasize dispositional (internal) explanations for other people's behavior and underemphasize situational (external) causes. In this scenario, Professor Miller may have made the mistake of assuming that Ben's behavior was entirely due to his own lack of effort or commitment without considering any external factors that might be contributing to Ben's behavior.

Members of a Student Team in Professor Miller's Organizational Behavior