Phil Jackson And Self-Serving Attributions

After reading sub section 12.1, What is social psychology? The tendency of an individual to take credit by making dispositional or internal attributions for positive outcomes but situational or external attributions for negative outcomes is known as the self-serving bias (Miller & Ross, 1975). This bias serves to protect self-esteem. imagine that if people always made situational attributions for their behavior, they would never be able to take credit and feel good about their accomplishments. One example of a sports figure who often gives self-serving attributions is former NBA player and coach, Phil Jackson. Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, having won 11 championships as a coach, six with the Chicago

Following the series, Jackson made a comment that many interpreted as a criticism of the Jazz and their coach, Jerry Sloan. Jackson said, "When you have a team that relies on one or two guys to get the job done, it's not as hard to defend them as it is a team that has a lot of people who can score ."This comment was seen as a slight against the Jazz and Sloan, who were known for their teamwork and balance on offense. Jackson seemed to be suggesting that the Bulls' victory was due to his superior coaching strategy, rather than the talent and effort of his players. This attribution may have been influenced by Jackson's ego and desire (self-serving bias) to establish himself as the mastermind behind the Bulls'

In 2004, the Lakers were upset in the NBA Finals by the Detroit Pistons, a team that was widely regarded as less talented than the Lakers. Following the series, Jackson made comments that suggested the Pistons had won through luck and officiating favoritism. He said, "They won on a fluke. Let's be honest about it. They got all the calls. “This attribution was widely criticized, as it seemed to be an attempt to deflect blame from the Lakers' poor performance and onto external factors. It also ignored the fact that the Pistons had outplayed the Lakers in virtually every aspect of the series, including defense, rebounding, and teamwork. Jackson's attribution may have been influenced by his desire to protect his own reputation as a coach, as well as his loyalty to his star players, such as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neil both of these examples, Jackson's self-serving attributions may have been influenced by his ego and desire to establish himself as a coaching genius. He may have felt that his success was due primarily to his own strategic brilliance, rather than the talent and effort of his players. This tendency to downplay the contributions of others and inflate his own importance may have contributed to tension and conflict within his teams, as well as a lack of respect from other coaches and players in the