responsibility attribution

n. Responsibility attribution takes place when the perceiver holds an actor or a collection of individuals responsible for a negative outcome. Responsibility and blame are assigned spontaneously when an actor adopts a counternormative conduct. Responsibility attribution is closely connected to causal attribution; individuals who cause a negative outcome are likely to be held responsible for it. The perceiver will also consider the actor's state of mind when determining responsibility; thus, more responsibility will be assigned to an actor who intended a negative outcome than to an actor who caused a negative outcome but did not intend it. Responsibility attribution may be motivated. For example, individuals who want to see the world as a just world may blame innocent victims for their mishaps. Some collectivist societies (e.g., Japan) practice collective responsibility attribution: perceivers may hold the group and/or the group leader responsible for a group member's misconduct. – MMC, CYC