Scapegoats are powerful groups, not weak and vulnerable ones.

Evidence

The model proposed here is quite different from the scapegoating theory Allport described. Importantly, it yields several implications that directly contradict earlier versions. First, only collective, not individual-level frustrations are likely to foster scapegoating. Second, groups that are perceived to be powerful (not weak and vulnerable) are likely to be victimized. Third, because frustration is an underlying, but not the proximal, cause of aggression, the lessening of frustrations may actually increase (not decrease) scapegoating (if improved conditions are attributed to the scapegoat movement). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1609

Categorization

• XREF: The powerful-scapegoat claim inverts a core assumption; connects to the anti-Semitic ‘powerful Jew’ stereotype documented elsewhere in the vault’s prejudice thread and Allport’s own text.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1609