In the context of social thinking, which term refers to the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal traits and underestimate the impact of situational factors when explaining other people's behavior?

• A. Cognitive dissonance
• B. Group polarization
• C. Fundamental attribution error
• D. Self-serving bias

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the key concept in the question: it asks about a tendency in social thinking related to explaining other people's behavior.
2. Recall definitions of the given terms: Cognitive dissonance involves discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs; Group polarization refers to the strengthening of group opinions; Self-serving bias is attributing successes to oneself and failures to external factors.
3. Focus on the term that involves explaining others' behavior by overemphasizing personal traits and underestimating situational factors.
4. Recognize that this tendency is known as the Fundamental Attribution Error, which is a common bias in social psychology.
5. Understand that the Fundamental Attribution Error highlights how people often misjudge the causes of others' actions by ignoring situational influences.