Self-Serving Bias

We attribute successes to our own skill and character, and failures to external circumstances. The world is rigged when we lose; it is meritocratic when we win.

• Students who pass exams credit their hard work and intelligence; those who fail blame the teacher, the questions, or bad luck.
• Companies that perform well credit their brilliant strategy; those that underperform blame market conditions and macroeconomics.
• In divorce proceedings, both partners invariably blame the other for the breakdown — each genuinely believes their own contribution to the problem was minor.