Only groups perceived as powerful and hostile get scapegoated for frustrations

Evidence

Heider reasoned that to explain the cause of an event, people look for a causal agent (e.g., another person) who possesses the power (or ability) and intent to bring about that event. Thus, for example, an infant is unlikely to be blamed for knocking a plate off of a 6-foot-high, secure shelf because of her inability to reach it, even if she is known generally to have the intent to knock things over. Extending Heider’s analysis to social (or intergroup) attribution suggests that only groups perceived as having the power and intent to cause widespread frustrations will be scapegoated. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1584

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to attribution theory and the scapegoating analysis in earlier chapter content; also parallels Girard’s scapegoat theory where the target must seem both powerful and threatening. — connects to: Scapegoating requires large shared frustrations plus a blaming ideology. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 794; Conventions gain force because unmet expectations trigger anger regardless of material stakes — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 127; Frustrated basic needs drive groups to scapegoat others for destructive fulfillment. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 79