Individual frustrations target persons while shared frustrations target groups.

Evidence

Tajfel (1981) hypothesized that individual frustrations lead people to blame other individuals for their problems, whereas shared (grouplevel) frustrations predispose people to blame other groups. For example, a woman might blame her boss for firing her if other members of her ethnic group remain gainfully employed, but might blame an outgroup if she loses her job during an economic downturn that affects many members of her (but not of another) ethnic group. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1578

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to scapegoating theory and intergroup conflict literature; this individual-vs-group attribution distinction parallels how moral panics (Cohen) shift blame onto outgroups during collective anxieties. — connects to: Group violence against subgroups grows from frustrated basic human needs seeking fulfillment — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 79; Scapegoating requires large shared frustrations plus a blaming ideology. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 794; Frustrated basic needs drive groups to scapegoat others for destructive fulfillment. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 79