The Group-Serving Bias in Evaluating and Explaining Harmful Behavior

Abstract

Group-serving biases in evaluating and explaining harmful behavior were investigated. Members of the Italian Communist party judged and explained an in-group or an out-group actor's harmful behavior toward an in-group or an out-group victim. The results support the notion of an in-group bias: Out-group actors were perceived as more aggressive and intentional in their actions than in-group actors. An in-group bias was also observed with regard to predictions about whether the victim would attempt retaliation. Group-based explanations were used more often when the group identities of actor and victim were different than when they were the same.