Actor-observer
People account for their own behavior differently from how they account for the behavior of others. When observing the behavior of others, we tend to attribute their actions to their character or their personality rather than to external factors. In contrast, we tend to explain our own behavior in terms of situational factors beyond our own control rather than attributing it to our own character. One explanation for this difference is that people are aware of the situational forces affecting them but not of situational forces affecting other people. Thus, when evaluating someone else's behavior, we focus on the person rather than the situation.
听力材料：
Now listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class.
Professor: So we encounter this in life all the time, but many of us are unaware that we do this ...even psychologists who study it. . . like me. For example, the other day I was at the store and I was getting in line to buy something. But just before I was actually in line, some guy comes out of nowhere and cuts right in front of me. Well, I was really annoyed and thought, “That was rude!” I assumed he was just a selfish, inconsiderate person when, in fact, I had no idea why he cut in line in front of me or whether he even realized he was doing it. Maybe he didn't think I was actually in line yet. .. But my immediate reaction was to assume he was a selfish or rude person.
OK, so a few days after that, I was at the store again. Only this time I was in a real hurry—I was late for an important meeting—and I was frustrated that everything was taking so long. And what's worse, all the checkout lines were long, and it seemed like everyone was moving so slowly. But then I saw a slightly shorter line! But some woman with a lot of stuff to buy was walking toward it, so I basically ran to get there first, before her, and, well, I did. Now, I didn’t think of myself as a bad or rude person for doing this. I had an important meeting to get to —I was in a hurry, so, you know, I had done nothing wrong.
Question：
Explain how the two examples discussed by the professor illustrate differences in the ways people explain behavior.
