Self Serving Bias Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Self Serving Bias?

Self-serving bias is a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual attributes their successes or failures to internal factors, thus believing themselves to be either more capable than they are in reality or less capable than they actually are. This bias is often seen as a form of self-enhancement, and it can lead to overconfidence, poor decision making, and unrealistic expectations. Self-serving bias is pervasive and can be observed in people from all walks of life. Self-serving bias works by creating false beliefs about the role an individual plays in the success or failure of a task. For example, if an individual receives praise for good work on a project, they may attribute this praise to their own hard work rather than any external factors such as luck or help from others. Similarly, if someone fails at something they may blame external factors rather than take responsibility for their own lack of effort or skill. One common way self-serving bias manifests itself is through confirmation bias the tendency to look for evidence that supports one’s existing beliefs while disregarding information that could challenge them. An individual may use this strategy to downplay their mistakes and emphasize only the positive aspects of their performance thus perpetuating their belief in their own superiority over others. Another way self-serving bias affects decision making is through selective memory recall focusing on positive experiences while selectively forgetting negative ones. This can lead to overconfidence because individuals will focus more on things that went well rather than things that did not go according to plan even though both types of experiences provide valuable learning opportunities for improvement. Overall, self-serving biases can have significant consequences both personally and professionally by leading individuals away from understanding the reality of things around them – including themselves – which in turn prevents growth and development potentials within many different contexts such as relationships with colleagues/friends/family members; professional development; decision making etcetera.