Stereotypes an d Intergroup Attributions in New Zealand

This study extends Hewstone and Ward's (1985) work on ethnocentrism and examines intergroup stereotypes and attributions in Maori and Pakeha adolescents in New Zealand. A group of 175 secondary school students participated in the two part study. In' the first session subjects evaluated Maori or Pakeha stimulus persons on a series of 16 descriptor traits. In the second session subjects generated causal attributions for the positive and negative behaviours of Maori or Pakeha target persons in hypothetical scenarios. Results revealed that Pakeha subjects evinced a group serving bias in stereo types, and to a lesser extent, in attributions. Maori subjects, by contrast, demonstrated a weak tendency to favour Pakehas in both conditions. There was little support, however, for the proposed link between stereotypes and attributions. The results are discussed in terms of the methodological features of the study with particular emphasis on the influence of priming.