Final answer:
The phenomenon of explaining our own behavior through situational factors and others' behavior through dispositional factors is known as the actor-observer bias. The self-serving bias refers to our tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external ones. Both biases are mechanisms to understand and rationalize human behavior while maintaining self-esteem.
Step-by-step explanation:
The behavior of individuals is often analyzed through the lens of attribution theory, which deals with how people explain the causes of behavior and events. When explaining the behavior of others, individuals tend to underestimate the influence of the situation and overestimate the role of personal factors, a phenomenon known as the fundamental attribution error. In contrast, when explaining our behavior, we often have access to more information about the situational factors that may have influenced us, leading to situational attributions. This discrepancy is referred to as the actor-observer bias, where as actors, we attribute our behavior to situational factors, while as observers, we attribute others' behavior to their dispositions.
In particular, the actor-observer bias highlights that we have more information about influences on our behavior compared to others. This is because we are privy to our thoughts, feelings, and the circumstances surrounding our actions. Hence, when it comes to explaining our actions, especially negative ones, we are more likely to provide situational explanations rather than dispositional ones.
Moreover, the self-serving bias illustrates how we make internal attributions for our successes and external attributions for our failures to maintain our self-esteem. This bias allows us to view ourselves favorably by crediting our positive outcomes to our internal qualities and attributing our negative outcomes to external factors.