Self-serving bias

A self-serving bias is any cognitive or perceptual process that is distorted by the need to maintain and enhance self-esteem, or the tendency to perceive oneself in an overly favorable manner. It is the belief that individuals tend to ascribe success to their own abilities and efforts, but ascribe failure to external factors. When individuals reject the validity of negative feedback, focus on their strengths and achievements but overlook their faults and failures, or take more credit for their group's work than they give to other members, they are protecting their self-esteem from threat and injury. These cognitive and perceptual tendencies perpetuate illusions and error, but they also serve the self's need for esteem. For example, a student who attributes earning a good grade on an exam to their own intelligence and preparation but attributes earning a poor grade to the teacher's poor teaching ability or unfair test questions might be exhibiting the self-serving bias. Studies have shown that similar attributions are made in various situations, such as the workplace, interpersonal relationships, sports, and consumer decisions.

Attribute substitution

Attribute substitution, also known as substitution bias, is a psychological process thought to underlie a number of cognitive biases and perceptual illusions. It occurs when an individual has to make a judgment that is computationally complex, and instead

Edgeworth's limit theorem

Edgeworth's limit theorem is an economic theorem created by Francis Ysidro Edgeworth that examines a range of possible outcomes which may result from free market exchange or barter between groups of people. It shows that while the precise location of the

Positive illusions

Positive illusions are unrealistically favorable attitudes that people have towards themselves or to people that are close to them. Positive illusions are a form of self-deception or self-enhancement that feel good; maintain self-esteem; or avoid

Impasse

A bargaining impasse occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. An impasse is almost invariably mutually harmful, either as a result of direct action which may be taken such as a strike in

Penal damages

Penal damages are liquidated damages which exceed reasonable compensatory damages, making them invalid under common law. While liquidated damage clauses set a pre-agreed value on the expected loss to one party if the other party were to breach the

Asha Ismail

Asha Ismail is a Kenyan human rights activist. She is the founder and president of Save a Girl, Save a Generation, an organisation whose mission is to end female genital mutilation, the dowry system, forced marriage and other abuses against women in

Intertemporal consumption

Economic theories of intertemporal consumption seek to explain people's preferences in relation to consumption and saving over the course of their lives. The earliest work on the subject was by Irving Fisher and Roy Harrod, who described 'hump saving

Respect (charity)

Respect is a UK-based charity working in the area of domestic violence. A national organisation based in London, it provides services, including helplines, for male and female perpetrators of domestic violence, for male victims of domestic violence, and

Précis du siècle de Louis XV

Précis du siècle de Louis XV is a historical work by the French philosopher and author Voltaire, first published in its own right 1768. Celebrating the progress of Enlightenment ideas and the retreat of prejudice, it comments on cultural, economic and

France Bleu Pays de Savoie

France Bleu Pays de Savoie, sometimes referred to as France Bleu Savoie, is a generalist radio station based in Chambéry. The radio station serves the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, though it can also be received as far as Geneva, Lyon, and in