Trait ascription bias

Biological Parallel

A crow using a stick tool to extract insects succeeds sometimes and fails others—it experiences its own variability. But when observing another crow, it sees only outcomes: success (skilled) or failure (unskilled), missing the hidden variation in grub depth, wood hardness, stick quality. This creates trait ascription bias: I am complex and situational, others are simple and consistent. The bias is structurally inevitable—we have continuous access to our own internal states but sample others' behavior episodically. It becomes pathological when managers see themselves as context-dependent but rate employees on fixed 'traits' from quarterly snapshots.