What are some examples of the fundamental attribution error?

The fundamental attribution error is our tendency to explain someone's behavior based on internal factors, such as personality or disposition, and to underestimate the influence that external factors, such as situational influences, have on another person's behavior. An example of the fundamental attribution error is when you ask a stranger for directions but they give you a seemingly snide response or they're simply rude to you. Naturally you would think of this person as rude or having a bad personality, but looking past their initial first impression.

They probably have had a bad day putting them in a bad mood and you were the first person they have come into contact with. They acted the way they did not because of their natural personality (most people are generally polite to strangers) but their circumstances made them act they way they did, in this case it was just having a bad day which was the cause.