![]() They may even go to the extreme of silently blaming the patient for the situation, not the condition. In many disease states, the physician may incorrectly judge the patient due to Actor-Observer Bias. It can be hard to relate to the more likely narrative – that other factors are to blame – because we think we would work harder to ensure that we never would end up in this situation.Īctor-Observer Bias can influence how physicians approach and treat patients. This means the observer wrongly places blame on the homeless person. Rarely is anyone trying to cheat the system! The vast majority are truly needy and would benefit from cash donations which they could use to invest and better their lives.įor the observer, Actor-Observer Bias tells them that the homeless aren’t motivated or they aren’t willing to work hard. Most reasons not to give cash donations are completely unfounded. ![]() People often, wrongly, make excuses about the less fortunate such as: “They will just waste the money,” “They may not really be homeless,” and “But look they have a car”. So why don’t people do this more in the US? So why wouldn’t they just directly give their money to someone in need? The most effective way to get people out of poverty, based on numerous studies, is to give people cash as opposed to supportive services. While it is true that a lot of people will give money to help the homeless, if you were to ask people who donate, how they choose the cause to support they might say: “I want my money to reach the needy and not support the middle man”. When you look at the number of people that have been homeless at some point in their lives, this number skyrockets to 1,300,000. This is likely a form of ego-preservation, which helps us maintain a positive self-imageĪctor-Observer Bias and donating to the homeless In the US, on any given night, over 600,000 people are homeless. When we make situational excuses for our actions, we are attributing an external Locus of Control to our lives, thus diminishing personal responsibility. The bias is tied to the psychological concept of Locus of Control, which is essentially the degree to which people believe different events in their lives are determined by external forces as opposed to having personal control over events’ outcomes. This bias tends to diminish with friends and family because we know more about their history, motivations, personality, and circumstances.Īctor-Observer Bias influences decision-making because it shapes how individuals perceive and ultimately characterize others, often making quick negative judgments about others’ personalities, while excusing their own behaviors as arising due to external or situational factors.Īctor-Observer Bias is usually at play when judging or evaluating others’ behavior, or reflecting on one's own. For example, a physician might consider an overweight patient as lazy and unmotivated, but will attribute his own obesity to the long hours and intensity of his job.
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