Final answer:
The need for one's behaviors to match their attitudes is known as behavioral justification, a process involved in reducing cognitive dissonance. This is different from other concepts like confirmation bias and fundamental attribution error, which explain how we process information and perceive others' actions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The need to ensure that one's behaviors are consistent with their attitudes toward an event is a process that involves reducing cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the tension experienced when our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are in conflict. To reduce dissonance and maintain positive self-esteem, we may change our attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, or introduce new cognitions. Behavioral justification refers to this need for consistency, which may lead to a change in attitude or behavior to decrease the dissonance.
When we seek information that supports our existing beliefs, we engage in confirmation bias, which is the tendency to focus on information that affirms our pre-existing views. Conversely, the fundamental attribution error is when we overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors when analyzing the behaviors of others in individualistic cultures. However, this error is less common in collectivistic cultures where community and relationships are emphasized over individual traits.