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Who is responsible for economic failures? Self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error in political context

Author

Listed:
  • Ze′ev Shtudiner

    (Ariel University)

  • Galit Klein

    (Ariel University
    Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)

  • Jeffrey Kantor

    (Ariel University)

Abstract

The current movement towards a fair socio-economic society can be measured by cost of living and cost of housing. Over the last 5 years, Israel has witnessed a serious rise in both these indices. At the same time, Israel has endured a reduction in family income. These trends led to massive public protests during the summer of 2011. The current research deals with how the Israeli public decides who is responsible for these socio-economic woes. It also deals with related biases in the Israeli public sphere. From a survey conducted among 1538 Israelis on and immediately after the 2015 national elections, we have statistically significant evidence that subjects determine blame based on their support (or non-support) of the ruling government. When the respondents did not identify politically with the ruling party they attributed blame for socio-economic problems (rising cost of living and rising cost of housing) to the prime minister and to a lesser extent to the ruling party. Subjects that politically identified with the ruling party did not attribute socio-economic problems to the prime minister or the ruling party. They placed blame on outside/other causes. The results of the survey are consistent with the ‘fundamental attribution error’ concept which suggests and shows the effect of psychological biases on opinions that should be based upon objective considerations. This research confirms that there is a strong impact of biases on people when voting. We suggest that politicians and voting researchers take this matter into consideration.

Suggested Citation

  • Ze′ev Shtudiner & Galit Klein & Jeffrey Kantor, 2017. "Who is responsible for economic failures? Self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error in political context," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 335-350, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:51:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11135-015-0307-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-015-0307-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wolfers, Justin, 2002. "Are Voters Rational? Evidence from Gubernatorial Elections," Research Papers 1730, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    2. Alan S. Gerber & Gregory A. Huber, 2010. "Partisanship, Political Control, and Economic Assessments," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(1), pages 153-173, January.
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    4. Gerber, Alan S. & Huber, Gregory A., 2009. "Partisanship and Economic Behavior: Do Partisan Differences in Economic Forecasts Predict Real Economic Behavior?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 103(3), pages 407-426, August.
    5. Mark R. Joslyn & Donald P. Haider-Markel, 2013. "The Politics of Causes: Mass Shootings and the Cases of the Virginia Tech and Tucson Tragedies," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 94(2), pages 410-423, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Shtudiner, Zeev & Klein, Galit, 2020. "Gender, attractiveness, and judgment of impropriety: The case of accountants," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Martins Priedols & Girts Dimdins & Viktorija Gaina & Veronika Leja & Ivars Austers, 2022. "Political Trust and the Ultimate Attribution Error in Explaining Successful and Failed Policy Initiatives," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, June.
    3. Israel, Avi & Lahav, Eyal & Ziv, Naomi, 2019. "Stop the music? The effect of music on risky financial decisions: An experimental study," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    4. Coskun, Esra Alp & Lau, Chi Keung Marco & Kahyaoglu, Hakan, 2020. "Uncertainty and herding behavior: evidence from cryptocurrencies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Zeev Shtudiner & Gilad Tohar & Jeffrey Kantor, 2022. "The effect of identification with a sports team and its performance on the willingness of fans to pay for team products," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 607-615, April.

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