The impact of the perpetrator’s and the victim’s characteristics on moral responsibility attributions

  • Małgorzata Styśko Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw
Keywords: responsibility attribution; guilt attribution; stereotype; relating an event to Self; victim; annihilation effect

Abstract

In accordance with the model based on defensive responsibility attribution and stereotyping, as well as the findings from previous studies (Styśko, 2006; 2007), in certain circumstances, unbiased or favourably biased judgements about the perpetrator from a negatively stereotyped group (the annihilation effect) can be explained by using a cognitive strategy which serves reducing a high sense of threat and regaining a lost sense of control. This article presents study based on the assumptions of this model. One hundred and seven high school students took part in the experiment using a computer procedure. When the victim was similar to the observer, the participants attributed a similar degree of responsibility to the perpetrators both not belonging and belonging to the negatively stereotyped group (jock hooligans). When the victim was presented as not similar but equally emotionally engaging (a child), the jock hooligan perpetrator was attributed even less responsibility than the non – jock hooligan perpetrator.

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Published
2019-03-28
Section
Articles