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MutterFodder's avatar

I grew up in a cult and, upon leaving in early adulthood, read a lot about the mind control tricks that cults use to keep people in them. Attribution error is high on that list because having an enemy to demonize is part of what makes a cult successful in its "us vs. them" outlook.

Cults have now pervaded not only religion but politics, business, social "justice," and other areas of life. Attribution error is everywhere.

Bob, you are a lone but necessary voice in talking about this, and here have written another great distillation into the ways humans delude ourselves into thinking we have a complete picture of a situation when it's anything but.

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Lance Packer's avatar

In sum, attribution error leads to disposition—personal character—as a reason for bias against a person or group, rather than examining the situational circumstances to achieve understanding and positive solutions. Cognitive empathy is a way to work toward eliminating attribution error.

Cast in a slightly different framework, since it is our human nature to always achieve as much control as possible, the question to ask is: what and who is involved in a situation where there is contention for control? I would suggest that attribution error arises from personal psychological and cultural processes or from deliberate propagation of the error primarily by a social organization in order to achieve its goals—or, usually, a combination of one reinforcing the other.

How to get around that? Cognitive empathy, as Bob suggests, which is a matter of bringing awareness of an alternative into the control situation: asking what is trying to be controlled by all involved, persons and their organizations. What is trying to be achieved, who is specifically involved, what are the methods of interaction, what is the timeframe for action, etc? These are all situational circumstances that cognitive empathy can utilize to help turn control efforts from zero-sum to non-zero-sum strategies.

If these elements of control can be delineated, then you are on the road to walking in the shoes of your perceived opponents. And if you ask yourself the same questions about your involvement in a situation, an even greater understanding is achievable. Actually, this step is quite necessary since positive non-zero-sum gaming requires compromise, and you need to know not only what is at stake for the opponent but also for yourself.

As always, a huge educational task, but knowing what is involved can help break down communication barriers.

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