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Ethnic Group Differences in Lay Philosophies of Behavior in the United States

Linda J. Skitka

University of Illinois at Chicago

This study tested whether national representative samples of Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites in the United States varied in their endorsements of dispositionist, situationist, and interactionist lay philosophies of behavior. Results were generally inconsistent with a lay philosophy of behavior account for ethnic differences in attribution tendencies. Specifically, Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics more strongly endorsed a dispositionist lay philosophy of behavior than did Whites. The only other ethnic group difference the authors found was that Blacks endorsed a situationist lay philosophy of behavior more strongly than did Whites. Endorsements of an interactionist lay philosophy did not differ across ethnic groups. Results also revealed that age, income, and education had more consistent and sometimes larger effects than ethnic category on endorsement of different lay philosophies of behavior. Implications are discussed.

Key Words: lay philosophies • ethnicity • race • attribution

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