What term describes attributing others' behavior to their character while underestimating situational factors?

• A. Fundamental Attribution Error
• B. Attitude
• C. Conformity
• D. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

Answer: (A)

Attribution bias where we assume others' actions reflect their character rather than the situation. This best fits the idea that people tend to explain someone’s behavior by personality traits and overlook situational factors. For example, if a coworker is late, we might label them as irresponsible instead of considering traffic, a family emergency, or an unexpected obstacle. Attitude is simply a person’s evaluative stance toward something, not an explanation for behavior. Conformity involves changing behavior to fit a group, not explaining why someone acted a certain way. The Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon is a persuasion tactic where agreeing to a small request leads to agreement to a larger one, not a bias about explaining others’ actions.