BUT FOR YOU, IT’S SITUATIONAL On the other hand, if you’re analyzing and explaining your own behavior and motivations, then you will tend to think the opposite of what you attribute to others. In other words, you assume that your motivation and behavior are based on a reaction to the situation, not to personality factors. If you didn’t stop and help the person pick up the papers, you would say it was because you were late for your meeting and didn’t have time to stop, or some other situation-based explanation.