Only groups seen as powerful and intent on harm get scapegoated

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. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1584

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1584
• XREF: connects to: Operation Car Wash selectively targeted one party’s abuses — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 610; Frustrated basic needs drive groups to scapegoat others for destructive fulfillment. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 79