The self-serving bias is when people ignore their mistakes and flaws so they can continue to feel good about themselves (Forsyth, 2008). In athletics, athletes might blame other things for their performance, like bad weather instead of admitting they didn’t train enough. This helps them protect their feelings and feel better about themselves, but it can be a problem if they don’t listen to feedback that could help them improve (Sherman & Cohen, 2002). Athletes often focus on the positive, like winning, and ignore the negative, like losing (Miller & Ross, 1975). People with low self-esteem are more likely to use the self-serving bias (Blaine & Crocker, 1993)
Blaine, B., & Crocker, J. (1993). Self-Esteem and self-Serving biases in reactions to positive and negative events: An integrative review. Self-Esteem, 5585.
Forsyth, D.R. (2008). “Self-Serving Bias”. International encyclopedia of the social sciences. Edited by William A. Darity, 2nd ed. 7.
Miller, D. T., & Ross, M. (1975). Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction? Psychological Bulletin, 82, 213225.
Sherman, K. D., & Cohen, L. G. (2002). Accepting threatening information: Self-affirmation and the reduction of defensive biases. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 119123.
