Summary: Egocentric bias occurs when people claim more responsibility for themselves for the results of a joint action than an outside observer would credit them.

Besides simply claiming credit for positive outcomes, which might simply be self-serving bias, people exhibiting egocentric bias also cite themselves as overly responsible for negative outcomes of group behavior as well (however this last attribute would seem to be lacking in megalomania).

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Egocentric Biases in Availability and Attribution

Five experiments were conducted to assess biases in availability of information in memory and attributions of responsibility for the actions and decisions that occured during a previous group interaction. The subject populations sampled included naturally occuring discussion groups, married couples, basketball teams, and groups assembled in the laboratory. The data provided consistent evidence for egocentric biases in availability and attribution: One’s own contributions to a joint product were more readily available, that is, more frequently and easily recalled; individuals accepted more responsibility for a group product than other participants atrributed to them. In addition, statements attributed to the self were recalled more accurately and the availability bias was attenuated, though not eliminated, when the group product was negatively evaluated (Experiment 2). Finally, when another participant’s contributions were made more available to the individual via a selective retrieval process, the individual allocated correspondingly more responsibility for the group decisions to the coparticipant (Experiment 5). The determinants and pervasiveness of the egocentric biases are considered.

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