Self-categorization and the explanation of Ethnic discrimination

This study is concerned with majority group members' explanation of ethnic discrimination in Dutch society. The focus is on the causal structure and the type of attributions made. These issues are examined under two identity conditions: personal and national. It is found, first, that single-cause explanations that are typically studied in attribution research were used by only 7% of the participants. Second, the explanation of ethnic discrimination was affected by the level of self-categorization. In the national identity condition, majority group identification was related to the explanation of ethnic discrimination, whereas personal beliefs were related to the explanation given when personal identity was salient. Hence, in addition to the many factors that are taken into account in attribution research, both the causal structure and the question of how the self is defined when explanations are given should be considered.