As others have pointed out, the self-serving bias refers to
self-enhancing habits of thought and perception. The actor-observer
bias refers more to attributional differences between agent and
observer. A possible link is the tendency of actors/agents to further
enhance their positional perspective with self-enhancing stories.
Typically, however, the actor-observer bias relies most on perspective
rather than self-focus.
Chuck H. (I believe) mentioned the lack of theoretical integration and
I am sympathetic, but I think this is not typically found in
psychology. A big embarrassment is found when teaching Personality
"theories." I don't find a great deal of agreement as to what
constitutes adequate theory, let alone integrative theory. If
generality is the criterion, then an evolutionary perspective might be
comforting, but I don't think it is presently (in psychology) capable of
serving as anything more than a verbal umbrella term with unfulfilled
promise of linking psychological constructs with vague references to
....natural selection, adaptation, or whatever. I think the
evolutionary perspective is still being developed and carved out in
psych and we will have to see how adequate it might be. However, one
can always (ad hoc) speculate as to links between self-enhancement
biases as well as perspectival differences in attribution. I (and maybe
Chuck?) would prefer a more sound "psychological" framework within which
to understand how thinking and perception are empirically grounded in
self-referential narrative. Where's the stuffing in our so-called
theories? Ohhh boy, do I need this Thanksgiving break!!! :) Gary
Peterson
