Wanda is annoyed because her waiter keeps getting her order wrong and doesn't seem to be listening to her. Wanda informs her companions she will not be leaving a tip for such a lazy, incompetent waiter. Unbeknownst to Wanda, two other waiters have called in sick, leaving her waiter with twice the workload. By not considering external forces to explain the waiter's behavior, what type of error is Wanda making?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Wanda is making the fundamental attribution error by attributing the waiter's poor service to his personal characteristics (laziness, incompetence) rather than considering external situational factors (the waiter being overloaded due to colleagues calling in sick).

Wanda Is Annoyed Because Her Waiter Keeps Getting Her Order