Which psychological phenomenon involves overlooking one's own biases and faults?

The phenomenon that involves overlooking one's own biases and faults is known as self-serving bias. This cognitive bias occurs when individuals attribute their successes to internal factors, such as their own abilities or efforts, while attributing failures to external factors, such as luck or situational conditions. Essentially, it involves a tendency to see oneself in a more favorable light, which can lead to an inaccurate perception of personal capabilities and situations.

Self-serving bias plays a crucial role in self-esteem maintenance. By deflecting blame and accepting credit selectively, individuals protect their self-image and justify their perspectives, even when confronted with contrary information. This bias can affect decision-making and interpersonal relationships, as individuals may struggle to acknowledge their shortcomings or the role of others in their successes.

In contrast, availability heuristic, hindsight bias, and confirmation bias focus on different aspects of cognitive processing and do not directly address the aspect of self-overlooking one’s mistakes or biases in the same way that self-serving bias does. Each of these biases highlights a different cognitive distortion, with the availability heuristic related to the ease of recalling examples influencing judgment, hindsight bias focusing on the belief that past events were predictable, and confirmation bias involving the tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs.