Summoner's Psyché #1: People Fear What They Cannot Understand

Welcome readers! My new addition to the Team Dignitas blogs present a series of articles that will provide insight into the Psyché of players. Just a brief introduction about myself, my name is David 'Myotic' Ho. I have been playing League of Legends ever since Closed Beta and am currently sitting at low diamond. I will be applying different socio-psychological principles with reference to League players and their attitudes towards others players and the game itself. The ultimate goal is to leave you with a different perspective on how to interact with others as well as mentally improving your level of play.

The first principle we will be discussing is the Fundamental Attribution Bias, which basically states that people tend to overestimate individual characteristics and abilities when explaining the behavior of a person. In effect, we are also underestimating the situational context of the player. We have all had those games where a player or multiple players on our team have performed poorly. Even worse, we have all had multiple games where players have refused to cooperate and as a result, thrown us on tilt. Now this is where the Fundamental Attribution Bias kicks into effect.

We attribute the actions of the player to the personality of the player themselves. Even as early on in champion selection, where a player does not get the role they ask for yet pick a champion that is not strong within the meta, the player is called a ‘troll’ for not following societal norms. Many fail to consider the player may not play well as a champion in that traditional role or is fed up with losing after having their role taken from them every game. Even isolated instances where a player gives up first blood, fails to outsmite their opponent, or dies to an inevitable gank will call for speculation into their abilities.

Why does this phenomenon occur? Although there is no universal answer to the question, several hypotheses have addressed the issue. I will not go over all of them but I will briefly describe the significant one pertaining to League of Legends. The Salience of the Actor provides that when we observe other people, they are the primary reference point whilst the situation is merely in the background. We are unaware of the situational contexts surrounding the person and therefore cannot focus on it.

For example, when a bot lane is pushed in and subsequently both die to a Level 6 Pantheon mandive at their turret, players are quick to jump to the judgment that the ADC and Support are unskilled. Some typical responses are to call for the support to place more wards, the ADC to position himself better, or the support to peel them off more effectively. What is failed to be considered is the inability of the support to place deep wards due to the exerting pressure of the enemy bot laners, the ADC having to constantly risk a death in order to keep up in experience and CS with the opposing bot laner, or the support not having enough peel to fend off an impending Pantheon jump.

As a result, disputes arise between players of a team and the focus is taken off of the game. Anger clouds judgment and mistakes are continually made until eventually; you are faced with the ‘Defeat’ logo. Consequently, if you are thrown on tilt and make mistakes in the preceding games, the Fundamental Attribution Bias will apply to your teammates in the next game as well.

What is the takeaway from all of this? Basically, by allowing for a deeper contextual understanding into the situations of others, you build immunity to bad-mannered players. This transitions well into your League of Legends experience and allow you to be a stronger player as you are more focused on the game and hold a more positive interaction with your teammates. Teamwork is an essential part of League of Legends and it is a lot easier to improve when you possess a team that will support you. Giving a player the role he/she desires, allowing for mistakes to be made and learning from them, and understanding that there are games where you will be ‘playing from behind’, will make you a better League of Legends player down the road.

I hope you enjoyed the first addition to Summoner's Psyché. The nature of this article is highly subjective and I would love to hear your opinions on the matter in the comments. Thanks for reading! Until next time summoners. Credits to magicnaanav for the article image.