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Self-Serving Bias
“Success speaks of talent; failure speaks of circumstances. Who is assigning the credit?”
01 / SUMMARY
In short
On average, people tend to explain favorable outcomes through their own traits or actions and adverse outcomes through external factors. Culture, mood, and situation type moderate the pattern.
03 / SCENE
In the wild
After closing a sale, someone highlights their negotiation; after losing another, they cite the market, although both factors were present each time.
04 / LIMIT
The limit
It does not justify treating every favorable explanation as an excuse or diagnosing dishonesty in an individual.
FINAL NOTE
What remains
For both successes and failures, use the same list of internal, external, and chance causes.