Which term refers to errors in evaluating the influence of external factors and internal biases when assessing the behavior of in-group and out-group members?

• A. Aversive racism
• B. Attribution errors
• C. Colorism
• D. Classism

Answer: (B)

Attribution errors describe how we misjudge why people behave the way they do by focusing too much on internal characteristics and not enough on external circumstances. When we assess actions across in-group and out-group members, this bias shows up as giving dispositional explanations for others’ behavior while downplaying situational factors that could influence it. For example, if someone from our own group is late to a meeting, we might think it’s a temporary issue we can overlook; but if someone from a different group is late, we might view it as a reflection of their character. This tendency to skew explanations toward internal traits rather than context is exactly what attribution errors capture, making it the best fit for the described idea. The other terms describe different forms of bias—aversive racism involves subtle, nonconscious prejudice; colorism centers on skin tone within racial groups; classism targets prejudice based on social class—none of which focus on how we misattribute behavior to internal vs external causes across group lines.