Final answer:
The tendency to explain others' behavior by personality traits rather than situational factors is known as the fundamental attribution error, influenced by the actor-observer bias and the self-serving bias, which also differ culturally.
Step-by-step explanation:
People often explain others' behavior with personal attributions, overlooking situational factors, due to what is known as the fundamental attribution error. For example, when Jamie acts hostile after losing a job, an observer unaware of the layoff might default to believing that Jamie's behavior is due to Jamie's disposition rather than the stressful event. This is exacerbated by the actor-observer bias, where we attribute our own behavior to situational factors because we have more context for it, whereas we lack information about others and assume their behavior reflects their personality.
Additionally, the self-serving bias explains how we make internal attributions for our successes to maintain a positive self-image, and external attributions for our failures. Cultural factors also play a role, with some societies placing more emphasis on individual control over one's behavior, which tends to favor dispositional explanations over situational ones.