Ultimate Attribution Error

Explanations > Theories > Ultimate Attribution Error

Description | Research | Example | So What? | See also | References 

Description

We tend to assume that whole groups of people have similar dispositions. This may be based on stereotypes or limited evidence.

Research

Bodenhausen (1988) put different students in to a mock jury situation with identical details, apart from the name of the defendant. When the defendant's name was Carlos Ramirez, he was found guilty more often than if he was called Robert Johnson. 

Example

Little old ladies are assumed to be kind, Jews assumed avaricious, children assumed to be innocent, etc. (of course, these are not true)

So what?

Using it

Make positive attributions about everyone who does what you want them to do, and negative attributions about contrasting groups. Encourage others to do the same.

Defending

Watch out for phrases like ‘they are all like that’, and any other generalizations. Spot words like ‘all’, ‘everyone’, ‘they’, ‘always’ and so on. Process these situations consciously.

See also

Availability Heuristic, Out-Group Homogeneity, Stereotypes

References

Pettigrew (1979), Bodenhausen (1988)

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