Why You Misjudge Others' Actions (And How To Fix It)

Read time: 2 minutes

When someone acts in error, it’s smarter to blame it on a lack of caffeine than malicious intent.

I uncovered this concept called the fundamental attribution error.

It’s the tendency to misjudge others by attributing their behaviors to internal motivations (personality), not their external circumstances (situation).

In simpler terms, we jump to conclusions about others based on who they are, not what they're experiencing.

This bias leads to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and harsh judgments.

Consider this: when someone is 3 minutes late for your Zoom call, your brain concocts a story that they don’t care as much as you do (when, in reality, they were just trying to go to the bathroom after back-to-back calls).

The irony? We're hypocrites.

We forgive our own behaviors for circumstances.

Most of the important problems involve people — and solving these problems requires understanding people.

Use Hanlon’s razor.

Hanlon’s Razor is a practical rule for decision-making — it says never to attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by carelessness, stupidity, or neglect.

People are busy, living in their own worlds and trying to take the path of least resistance.

Instead of misattributing actions to personality, give them the benefit of the doubt that carelessness, stupidity, neglect, or external circumstances can be attributed to the error.

Just don’t let Hanlon’s razor rationalize inappropriate behavior.

Hanlon’s razor is vital for communication in the digital world because the fundamental attribution error is more prevalent with less nonverbal communication.

Consider these scenarios (that I’m certain you’ve experienced):

• You sent a text, but they haven’t responded

• You sent an important email two days ago without a reply

• You left three voicemails this morning, but they haven’t returned the call

As time goes on, your head crafts a narrative where you overanalyze and often overthink what you wrote or said. And you question your clarity or get frustrated because they don’t care about it as much as you do.

Remember, Hanlon’s razor — people aren't ignoring you out of spite or misconstruing it; external factors often explain the oversight.

Maybe they just need some more coffee (☕).

Thank you for reading — Peter

Last week I shared an actionable post on simple changes to improve the way you write emails.

For 15 years, I overlooked two obvious principles. All it took was a year invested in learning how to write online (while running my business) to see how a few tweaks could positively impact a daily function.

I share 5 tactics that you can implement immediately.

Read it for free:

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