The very idea reminds me of the bitter joke that when people say "it's not you, it's me", they mean "it's you". And that some speakers have said "It's not the c

The very idea reminds me of the bitter joke that when people say "it's not you, it's me", they mean "it's you". And that some speakers have said "It's not the circumstances, it's you," for example here: (http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Its-Not-the-Circumstances-Its-You http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Its-Not-the-Circumstances-Its-Yo...). So: Summary of fundamental attribution error: If you're pointing at people and saying "It's not the circumstances, it's you," often enough it is actually the circumstances. You will be performing "correspondence inference" when supported by evidence and committing "fundamental attribution error" when not supported. To avoid fundamental attribution error you need to take care to obtain sufficient evidence. You have to consider and control for confounding factors, correlation in the absence of direct causation, and sheer coincidence.