Intergroup Attributions and Ethnocentrism in the Indian Subcontinent

Abstract

Predictions of Pettigrew's ultimate attribution error were investigated among 148 Indians (91 Hindus and 57 Muslims) and 145 Pakistanis (107 Muslims and 38 Hindus) in the Indian subcontinent. Using hypothetical scenarios, the first prediction, that negative behavior would be attributed more to dispositional than situational factors for out-group compared to in-group actors, received little support. The second prediction, that positive out-group behavior would be attributed more to situational circumstances, received considerable but not total support. Hindu participants attributed in-group actors as more competent but also warmer in Pakistan, whereas Muslim participants attributed in-group actors as being warmer in both countries. Autostereotypes (rather than heterostereotypes) of competence and warmth consistently mediated ethnocentric intergroup attributions. Collective self-esteem mediated ethnocentrism among both groups in Pakistan but only among Muslims in India, whereas social dominance orientation mediated majority group biases in both countries. Overall, the ultimate attribution error received mixed support, and results supported an in-group favoring more than out-group derogating pattern.Intergroup attribution refers to the manner in which individuals explain the behaviors of members of their own and other social groups. Attributions made for the behavior of in-group and out-group members are often ethnocentric. Pettigrew (1979) formulated the "ultimate attribution error" (UAE), an extension of the fundamental attribution error (Heider, 1958;Ross, 1977), as a systematic pattern of ethnocentric attributions. The UAE postulates that (a) when people perceive what they regard as a negative act performed by an out-group member, they are more likely to make attributions to dispositional factors in comparison to the same act carried out by an in-group member, and (b) when people perceive what they regard as a positive act performed by an out-group member, they are more likely to make attributions to situational factors in comparison to the same act carried out by an in-group member. He reported three published studies in support of these predictions.In line with this scarcity of empirical evidence, progressive studies have persistently failed to provide unqualified support for intergroup attributional biases (e.g., Hewstone &

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Racial and mental illness stereotypes and discrimination: An identity-based analysis of the Virginia Tech and Columbine shootings.

“…This pattern of attributions is known as the “ultimate attribution error (UAE),” and is said to maintain in-group favoritism and out-group stereotyping and prejudice (Pettigrew, 1979). Although the UAE has received some empirical support (Duncan, 1976; Morris & Peng, 1994; Taylor & Jaggi, 1974), overall evidence for both in-group favoring and out-group derogating attributions has been limited (Hewstone, 1990; Khan & Liu, 2008). …”

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