Glossary
Ultimate Attribution Error
What is the ultimate attribution error?
The ultimate attribution error is a proposed bias in explaining group members' behavior. Negative acts by an outgroup member are treated as revealing character, while positive acts are discounted. Explanations may favor members of one's own group.
How it can appear
“They succeeded because they had an unfair advantage; we succeeded because we're capable.” That contrast illustrates an explanation that protects a favorable view of one's own group.
Pettigrew's 1979 formulation describes several ways to discount outgroup success: treating the person as an exception, invoking luck or advantage, attributing unusually high effort, or pointing to a favorable situation.
What the evidence shows
Hewstone's 1990 review found ingroup-favoring attributions in most of 19 studies, but only limited support for the complete formulation. The full pattern is not universal.
Why it matters
Explanations can preserve stereotypes instead of responding fairly to behavior. Compare how similar acts are explained and consider relevant circumstances. One dispositional explanation alone does not establish bias.
Group attribution error concerns a different inference: treating group-level decisions as evidence of individual members' views.