Final answer:
According to Fritz Heider's attribution theory, dispositional attribution refers to behaviors attributed to a person's traits, while situational attribution refers to behaviors attributed to environmental factors. The fundamental attribution error is our tendency to favor dispositional explanations for others' behaviors, while the actor-observer bias describes our inclination to attribute our own behaviors to situational factors.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Fritz Heider's attribution theory (1958), dispositional attribution assumes behavior is due to a person's traits and personality, whereas situational attribution assumes behavior is due to the situation or environment. Dispositional attributions are those where we assign the cause of the behavior to the person's inherent characteristics or traits. Conversely, situational attributions occur when we believe external factors, such as the surrounding environment or cultural influences, are the cause of a person's behavior.
The fundamental attribution error refers to our tendency to overemphasize dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when evaluating the behavior of others. This error often occurs because as observers, we lack complete information about another person's situation. In contrast, when accounting for our own behavior, we are more likely to point to situational influences, a bias known as the actor-observer bias.