The Positivity Bias in Attributions

Two experiments examined whether the attributions people made about others from their own or another culture were subject to a positivity bias, and whether these attributions were affected by a positive in-group bias. In Experiment 1, a Japanese sample made attributions to a person from Japan, the United States, or the Third World who was either promoted or demoted. In Experiment 2, a sample from the United States and the Third World made attributions to a person from the United States or the Third World who was either promoted or demoted. The attributions were not subject to a positive in-group bias. However, the attributions made by the Japanese, Americans, and people from the Third World evidenced a positivity bias, although with cultural variation on the measures on which it was obtained.