Group Attribution Error

What is Group Attribution Error?

Group attribution error is the tendency to infer group members' attitudes from a collective decision without giving enough weight to how the decision was made. A majority vote, a veto, or unequal influence can produce a decision that some members oppose.

Example of Group Attribution Error

Imagine a committee approves a proposal by a narrow vote. An observer hears only that “the committee approved it” and concludes that the members broadly support the proposal. The final decision hides the disagreement. The vote distribution tells a different story.

What the Research Examined

Allison and Messick’s 1985 experiments examined judgments about community decisions, elections, and juries. Participants sometimes inferred members' attitudes from group outcomes despite information about decision rules or vote proportions. Some studies found stronger correspondence judgments for an outgroup.

Why It Matters

A group decision is evidence of what the group decided. It is not a complete account of what its members believe. Before treating an outcome as consensus, examine the decision procedure and the members' views.

The term is more specific than stereotyping someone by profession, race, or gender. A related but different concept, outgroup homogeneity bias, concerns seeing members of another group as more alike than members of one's own group.