How To Recognize the Self-Serving Bias and What To Do About It
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Medically reviewed by Dakari Quimby, PhDMedically reviewed by Dakari Quimby, PhD
People with a self-serving bias tend to attribute their accomplishments or the good things that happen to them to their own gifts, abilities, or efforts. For instance, they might believe an A on a test resulted from their intelligence or ability to retain information.
However, if something negative happens, they tend to believe that the outcome is due to situations or forces beyond their control. For instance, they might believe that an F on a test is the result of a bad instructor or a test that was not constructed fairly.
The self-serving bias is a distorted view that protects your ego. Examples include taking credit for an accomplishment you had nothing to do with, discounting negative or constructive feedback, or blaming someone else for a negative outcome.
Psychologists and researchers have studied the self-serving bias for years and documented it in relational, academic, and work settings.
Why It Happens
The self-serving bias was first recognized in the 1960s when a team of researchers was studying attribution bias, a type of bias in which people attempt to determine the reasons for their behaviors and the behaviors of others. During this research, psychologist Fritz Heider discovered that people also make attributions based on a need to maintain self-esteem.
Since then, researchers have explored why self-serving bias occurs and why some people are more prone to it.
Mental Health
The self-serving bias is common in the general population, but it can vary significantly depending on your age, culture, and situation. Your mental health status can also play a role.
For example, people with clinical depression tend to display fewer self-serving biases than those who are not.
Researchers note that this group, which comprises about 7% of the population, consistently displays accurate self-knowledge of their abilities and has realistic aspirations. They are also more likely to experience an inverted self-bias, where they blame themselves for the negative things in their lives and attribute the positive to happenstance or luck.
Conversely, the self-serving bias may be more prevalent in people with a mental health disorder like schizophrenia or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). For instance, one study found that the self-serving bias was more common in people with schizophrenia, especially if they experienced delusions (beliefs that are not based in reality), compared to those without the condition.
Another study found that the self-serving bias is common in people with narcissistic tendencies. Those with grandiose behaviors (exaggerated feelings of superiority) were more likely to use the self-serving bias to boost their image.
What Is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition that causes someone to have an inflated sense of self-importance, an excessive need for attention and admiration, and a lack of empathy for others.
Self-Esteem
For some people, the internal need to maintain self-esteem may be the root of the self-serving bias. Attributing your successes to your own strengths, hard work, or ingenuity can boost your self-esteem.
Likewise, attributing external forces or people to your mistakes or failures can protect your self-esteem or keep it intact. Doing so might also protect you from negative self-talk and criticism from others. It also might help you persevere in challenging situations because you are not taking on the weight or blaming yourself in any way.
Self-Presentation
Some researchers believe that people engage in self-serving bias due to a need for self-presentation to others, especially if they want people to view them a certain way or hold them in a positive light. In these situations, their motivation for taking credit for the positive things and shifting blame for the negative presents a positive image of themselves to others.
People may also have a self-serving bias to match their audience's expectations or preferences. This approach allows them to maintain their self-esteem because they care deeply about how others see them. For this reason, they will continue to put forth favorable information about themselves to encourage a favorable impression. However, they might claim less credit in certain situations to avoid being perceived as bragging.
Cultural Differences
There is some evidence that a person's culture may play a role in the prevalence of the self-serving bias.
For instance, countries like the United States that value individualism and personal achievement tend to have higher rates of self-serving bias than countries that are more collectivist in nature. In these cultures, failure or mistakes are more often attributed to personal flaws rather than external factors.
Signs and Examples of the Self-Serving Bias
Identifying the self-serving bias is pretty straightforward. Usually, people who engage in the self-serving bias easily share their successes and how they contributed to those accomplishments by talking about their hard work, commitment, intelligence, and so on. If something negative or unexpected happens, they attribute this failure or mistake to external factors, other people, or circumstances beyond their control.
Signs of the self-serving bias might include blaming others, embellishing successes, and refusing to take responsibility. People might have an overinflated ego, an inability to admit mistakes, and a tendency to conflict with others.
Here are some examples of what the self-serving bias may look like in real situations:
Marathon runners who finish with a slower time might believe the race environment was to blame for their performance. For example, they might reason that the course was too hard, the weather was not conducive, there were too many runners, or their shoes were uncomfortable.
Students who receive lower test scores might blame external factors. For example, they might blame the teacher, the room where the testing took place, the noise level, or the distraction of the person next to them tapping a pencil.
Effects
One might assume that using the self-serving bias is negative, but that is not always the case. Often, when someone makes an attribution about something—whether positive or negative—they are simply trying to make sense of their world.
The self-serving bias can appear calculated when someone tries to present a certain image to the public, but that bias is often not deliberate. Instead, it is simply an attempt to understand why things happened the way they did.
That said, intentional or unintentional, the self-serving bias is not without consequences. Here are some negative impacts of a self-serving bias:
Inaccurate view of one's abilities
Inability to engage in self-reflection
Overconfidence or inflated ego
Strained relationships or regular conflicts with others
Inability to learn from mistakes or accept feedback
Poor decision-making
How To Overcome the Self-Serving Bias
Greater self-awareness is often the first step in recognizing when biases cloud your perceptions of yourself and others. This awareness can help prevent you from making unhelpful decisions and drastically improve your relationships with others—especially if you learn to take responsibility for your mistakes and resist the urge to blame someone or something else in your environment.
You can take steps to help ensure you realistically assess things that occur in life. Here are some tips to get you started:
Work on self-awareness: When you are self-aware, you can reflect on your self-biases, strengths, and weaknesses and develop a more realistic picture of yourself.
Examine things holistically: Looking at the bigger picture helps you build awareness, improve empathy, relate to people on a more personal level, and understand when you're getting in your own way.
Avoid explaining things away: Learn how to recognize the urge to explain why something happened or to blame external factors and redirect your thoughts and what you communicate.
Be willing to offer praise: While it can be easy to take credit for things or point out how your strengths might contribute to your work, school, or personal relationships, it’s important to acknowledge others and compliment them on what they do well or how they positively affect outcomes.
Look for ways to improve: The self-serving bias does not allow room for self-reflection or growth. Try to develop a growth mindset to build on your strengths and address your weaknesses. A growth mindset is the belief that you can continue to learn and grow.
Be honest and humble: When things do not go well, be willing to acknowledge your mistakes. When things go well, and you truly contribute to the outcome, be humble in sharing those results with others.
Accept feedback: Part of being self-aware is accepting feedback and constructive criticism from others. While not everything someone says to you will need to be implemented, be willing to listen openly to what they suggest and reflect on its validity.
Practice self-compassion: Some people find making mistakes very hard to accept. If you're in this camp, try to be compassionate with yourself. Making a mistake is a normal part of life and does not negate your worth or value. Plus, mistakes are often learning opportunities.
When To Seek Support
Although the self-serving bias is not a mental health disorder, it can interfere with your relationships, cause conflict, and hold you back. Reach out to a healthcare provider, particularly a mental health professional, if you think this may be the case for you.
A provider may be able to provide a more objective view of the biases you are embracing and offer tips for recognizing them in the future. They can also determine if a mental health condition like narcissistic personality disorder may be a contributing factor.
A mental health professional can:
Teach you strategies for practicing self-awareness and self-compassion—even when you experience setbacks
Offer tips on how to communicate more effectively with others, embrace your true strengths, and recognize your flaws
Teach you strategies for changing your thought processes and your behaviors
About 75% of people in psychotherapy find it beneficial. It can improve your psychological and emotional well-being, as well as your relationships with others.
A Quick Review
The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute positive events and results to your abilities or efforts while attributing negative events and results to external factors or other people. This tendency is often a way to protect self-esteem or present a positive version of yourself to others.
While the self-serving bias can create tension between people, it can also promote perseverance in challenging times. That said, if the self-serving bias is affecting your relationships or your overall quality of life, it's important to contact a mental health professional.
A provider can help you better understand your mindsets and behaviors and help you develop personal growth strategies. They can also develop a treatment plan if your self-serving bias is a symptom of an underlying mental health condition.
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