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ATTRIBUTION THEORY.
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Research proposal to analyze empirical studies testing Pettigrew's model of the "ultimate attribution error," related to human causal explanations for events in the world.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Research proposal to analyze empirical studies testing Pettigrew's model of the "ultimate attribution error," related to human causal explanations for events in the world.

Paper Introduction:
Introduction The proposed paper will present a meta-analytic investiga-tion of empirical studies testing Pettigrew's (1979) model of the "ultimate attribution error." In a general framework paper, this report: a) explicates the general attribution model; b) describes the essential concepts associated with the ultimate attribution error; c) provides a brief review of the empirical research testing ultimate attribution error principles and postulates; and d) delineates how meta-analytic techniques will be applied to the exiting literature in the area. Attribution Theory As noted by Taylor, Peplau and Sears (1996), in general, attribution refers to the process by which people attempt to infer the cause of events in our world; in other words, attribution theory deals with the "rule

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The firstis studies exploring ethnocentric attribu-tion patterns for positive andnegative behaviors of ingroup and outgroup members. & Sears, D.O. Review of the Literature Hewstone (199 ) states that the empirical research invest-igating theultimate attribution error can be divided into three categories. The different effect sizes found in each study are then analyzed by averaging them into a composite or "mean" effect size,which is compared against zero to determine whether the relation-ship issignificant (larger than what would be expected by chance alone). Sometimes, but not always, prejudice people will evidencegreater group-serving attributions. According to Pettigrew (1979),people, especially prejudiced people, often have an ethno-centric orcultural bias in their attributions. Specifically, the "ultimateattribution error: holds that: (1) when people perceive what they regard as a negative (un-desirable) act by an outgroup member (a member of a group withwhich they do not affiliate or identify), they will generally attribute itdispositionally, often as genetically determined, in comparison to the sameact by an ingroup member (a member of a group with which they do affiliateor identify); (2) when people perceive what they regard as a positive act by anoutgroup member, they will attribute it to one or more of the following:(a) "The exceptional case," (b) luck or special advantage, (c) highmotivation and effort, or (d) manipulable situational context. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. This was followed by an examina-tion of the existingresearch on ultimate attribution error and a brief delineation of whatexisting studies had revealed, conclud-ing that there is at least moderatesupport for the ultimate attribution concept. European Journal of Social Psychology, 12, 1-16. Taylor, D.M. Hewstone, M. Taylor, S.E., Peplau, L. Explanations for racialdiscrimination: The effects of group discussions on inter-groupattributions. According to Rosenthal (19 ), themet a analysis requires that one first define the relationship to beexamined. Meta analytic procedures for socialresearch (Revised ed.) Newbury Park: Sage. The second is studiesexploring for ethnocentric attributions in appraisals of success andfailure for ingroup and outgroup members. The final section of thepaper described metal-analytic techniques and how they will be applied inthe proposed research. (1976). 2. Specifically, it was noted that for people of one's own ethnic orcultural background (ingroup), there is a tendency to make an attributionthat has a self-serving bias in which they attribute their positiveoutcomes (success) to internal causes and their negative outcomes(failures) to external causes. (1969). Intense conflict, negative stereotypes and national andsocioeconomic differences will increase self-serving attributions. The ultimate attribution error? Concerning explanations for racial/cultural/ethnic or genderdifferences between groups, studies conducted by Hewstone and Jaspars(1982) as well as Gurin, Gurin, Lao and Beat tie (1969) show that a biasedattribution in favor of one's own group is also present. positive behavior, in general, is more internallyattributed than is negative behavior. However, this research also indicates thatthis ethno-centric pattern is not always present (Hewstone & Ward, 1985).In general, Hewstone (199 ) reports that the small body of studies in thisarea are both methodologically and conceptually problematic, and thatstrong confidence in the degree to which they support ultimate attributionerror must await additional research. 5. The meta-analysis statistical techniqueoffers a way of conducting such research. Noting that the findings of success/failurestudies tend to show outgroup success and ingroup failures explained interms of self-serving or ethnocentric patterns that derogated the outgroupand favored the ingroup, Greenberg and Rosenfield (1979) investigatedwhether findings were due to simple ethnocentrism or to culturalstereotypes. (1977). (19 ). Meta Analysis Techniques The proposed paper will present a metal-analysis of studiesinvestigating ultimate attribution error. Journal of Cross-CulturalPsychology, 5, 162-171. In the case of the conductedanalysis, the general interest would be the effects of identifica-tion/affiliation (or the lack thereof) with a particular group on thedegree to which situational (external) or dispositional (internal) factorsare used to explain the causes of ingroup and outgroup behavior. Hewstone, M. Attributions to ingroup/outgroup members sometimes do show thatoutgroup success is explained away in terms of good luck, high effort or aneasy task. In addition, researchconducted by Whitehead, Smith and Eichorn (1982) in-dicated thatstereotypes, as a foundation for attributions, may be prominent if therelevant task or trait being judged is part of the typical stereotype forthat group. Ethnocentrism and causalattribution in a South India context. 4. Pettigrew (1979) expanded the concept of the ultimate attributionerror to deal with the type of attributions people make for success andfailure. Journalof Personality, 47, 643-657. (1974). Duncan, B.L. European Journal of SocialPsychology, 2 , 311-335. (1982). (199 ). Ethnocentric patterns of attribution have also been observed instudies of success and failure. On the other hand, for those of a differentethnic/ cultural group (outgroup), people often make the opposite attribu-tions, attributing positive outcomes to external causes and nega-tiveoutcomes to internal causes. However, what has not yetbeen done is any attempt to provide a quantita-tive overall perspective ofthe existing knowledge base--an analysis that combines all studiesexamining ultra attribution error. Following the definition of the relationship, the metal analysisrequires that all articles relevant to the relationship be obtained andthat, for each source, an "effect size" be calculated. In addition, Pettigrew posited that thiscultural bias will be greatest when: the groups involved have historical orintense conflict; possess especially negative stereotypes of each other;and when racial and ethnic differences vary with national or internationalsocioeconomic differences. Differential social perception and attribution ofintergroup violence: Testing the lower limits of stereotyping blacks.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 59 -598. Rosenthal defines aneffect size as the size of the relationship observed in a given study. Internal-externalcontrol in the motivational dynamics of negro youth. Stephan, W.G. & Beattie, H. (1996). Gurin, P., Gurin, G., Lao, R. And the third is studiesexploring ethnocentric attributions about differences between groups andthe social position of groups. Whitehead, G., Smith, S. In general then, the existing research provides at least a moderatedegree of support the ultra attribution error. "Whites" ethnocentrism andtheir attributions for the behavior of blacks: A motivational bias. According to the authors, the external attribution assigns causalityfor a given event or behavior (either one's own or another's behavior) toan outside agent or force (e.g., "The devil made me, him or her do it.").The internal attribution, on the other hand, makes the claim that thecausal factor for the event or behavior lies within the person (e.g., "I,he, or she did it by practicing and working hard." In other words, ininternal attribu-tions it is factors internal or characteristic of a personand not a situation or force, or outer agent, that is perceived as direct-ly responsible for the event or behavior. & Jaggi, V. The Ultimate Attribution Error The ultimate attribution error deals with attributionsrelated to prejudicial or biased views. (1979). A review of theliterature on intergroup causal attribution. In a comprehensive review of studies testing for ultimateattribution error, Hewstone (199 ) concluded that the existing literature,in general, shows that: 1. (1982). NY: Longman. Rosenthal, R. 3. The primarypattern here appears to be higher levels of self-serving attributionfavoring in-group by the ingroup than by the outgroup. Regarding ethnocentric attributions for positive and negativeoutcomes, studies have generally confirmed people's tendencies to favorinternal attributions for positive behavior and external explanations fornegative behavior; and that they tend to make these kinds of attributionssignificantly more often for their own ethnic/racial/cultural group thanfor a different racial/ethnic/ cultural group (e.g., Duncan, 1976; Stephan,1977; Taylor & Jaggi, 1974). References Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., Akert, R.M. (9th ed.). Socialpsychology. (1998). The effects ofsubject's race and other's race on judgements of causality for success andfailure. & Rosenfield, D. Introduction The proposed paper will present a meta-analytic investiga-tion ofempirical studies testing Pettigrew's (1979) model of the "ultimateattribution error." In a general framework paper, this report: a)explicates the general attribution model; b) describes the essentialconcepts associated with the ultimate attribution error; c) provides abrief review of the empirical research testing ultimate attribution errorprinciples and postulates; and d) delineates how meta-analytic techniqueswill be applied to the exiting literature in the area. Socialpsychology (3rd ed.). Personality, 5 , 193-2 2. & Eichorn, J. Greenberg, J. & Jaspars, J.M.F. Attribution Theory As noted by Taylor, Peplau and Sears (1996), in general, attributionrefers to the process by which people attempt to infer the cause of eventsin our world; in other words, attribution theory deals with the "rules"people follow as they make their inferences regarding causal factors.Aronson, Wilson and Akert (1998) note that attributions can be of twotypes: external or internal. Itfirst described attribution theory and its relation to the ultimateattribution error. Also, themeta analysis provides a test to determine whether the studies consistentlyevidence the same general result; if inconsistencies are found, samplestudy variables, characteristics, and attributes are then examined todetermine whether they explain the inconsistencies (the model-fittingprocedures). Group-serving attributions are more likely when perceivers areaware of their own and the other' group membership. Summary This paper provided a basic framework for the proposed re-search. Journal of SocialIssues, 25, 29-53. Stereotyping role of ingroup-outgroupdifferences in causal attribution: The case of gender and achievement.British Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 281-292. It was found that ethnocentrism was the main factor explainingattribu-tions but that stereotypes were more endorsed by high ethno-centrism subjects than by low ethnocentrism subjects.

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