BiasSocial judgment · Attribution Bias · Entry 142
Self-Serving Bias – when success is yours, but failure is someone else’s fault
Got promoted? That’s your talent! Didn’t get promoted? Must be your boss’s bias. That’s Self-Serving Bias – the tendency to credit yourself for successes but blame external factors for failures.
Where it can show up
- Work & career – if a project succeeds, you take the credit; if it fails, it’s the team’s fault.
- School & exams – good grade? You’re smart. Bad grade? The teacher was unfair.
- Sports & competition – if you win, it’s due to your preparation; if you lose, the referee was biased or the conditions were bad.
A practical countermeasure
- Take responsibility for failures – not all mistakes are caused by external factors.
- Be honest with yourself – successes and failures are usually a mix of personal effort and external circumstances.
- Analyze feedback – if you always find external excuses, ask yourself if it’s preventing growth.