Self-Serving Bias
Self-Serving Bias is a cognitive distortion where individuals attribute their successes to internal personal factors (like talent or hard work) while blaming their failures on external situational factors (like bad luck or unfair systems). Formalized by Miller and Ross in 1975, this mental model explains why CEOs take credit for bull markets but blame "macro headwinds" for losses, and why students believe an 'A' grade reflects intelligence while an 'F' reflects a "bad teacher." Mastering the Self-Serving Bias is essential for honest post-mortems and building cultures of genuine accountability.