Attribution of Causality. Role of Ethnicity and Social Class

Summary The present study was designed to determine whether processes involved in trait attribution also operate in the attribution of causality for behaviors of members representing different ethnic and social class groups. Ss from two different ethnic groups (English Canadian and French Canadian) and the same social class (middle class) judged the relative importance of the internal traits of actors in causing them to behave in certain ways. The actors were described as belonging to one of two ethnic groups (English Canadian and French Canadian), one of two social classes (middle class and lower class), or to some combination of the two. The behaviors for which Ss judged actors were either of a socially desirable or socially undesirable nature. Results provided partial support for the expected relationships between ethnocentric attitudes and stereotypes on the one hand, and degree of perceived internality for behavior on the other hand. Thus, Ss showed certain tendencies to make more favorable attributions to members of their own social groups than for members of “outgroups,” and to attribute causality in ways consistent with social stereotypes. The results also demonstrated, however, that other principles operate in the complex process of causal attribution in a cross-cultural context.