by William Taboas, M.A.
One of the core irrational beliefs that Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy addresses is other-downing, an externalizing variant of self-downing or self-condemnation. Albert Ellis defined other-downing as a form of global evaluation of human worth: we condemn others for not meeting our demands or expectations. Global negative evaluations and beliefs of others are often associated with the emotions of hurt, anger, envy, and jealousy. When someone has trespassed us, we pass global judgment on them, their character, and their worth as a human. We cognitively devalue the other person or dehumanize them in order to make retaliation easier.
For some of us, the consequences of making global evaluations, including the dysfunctional negative emotions that come with them, are often unfruitful and problematic. When ruminating on a trespass and the character of a person who is capable of trespassing us, we make ourselves feel more hurt, angry, jealous, and envious. Science has demonstrated that there are numerous biases that operate at all times to give rise to these global evaluations, but one stands out: Fundamental Attribution Error.
In a nutshell, Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) is when we attribute the actions of a person to their character, rather than the circumstances in which the behavior takes place. For instance, you might be driving on the highway when a driver cuts you off speeding. You might conclude that the driver is inconsiderate, wreckless, and stupid. In other words, your mind jumps to the conclusion about their character. The error in thinking is ignoring the circumstances for speeding. I’m sure you have sped on the highway, and you’re probably thinking that you had valid reasons for speeding, instead of concluding that your character explains your speeding.
Making global assumptions and evaluations based on limited information can often exacerbate any negative emotions present. A strategy to counter FAE is by considering the present circumstances the other person is experiencing, not to excuse their behavior, but to conclude that humans can and will behave in such a way given the right context, place, history, and triggers. Jumping to the conclusion that behavior is just the only variable to consider is incomplete; just put yourself in another person’s shoes before you pass judgment.
