Actors, observers, and attributions for Third World poverty: Contrasting perspectives from Malawi and Australia

Actors' and "observers"' attributions for Third World poverty were assessed. Dispositional attributions were expected to be linked to the withholding of personal donations to overseas aid. A combined total of 582 undergraduates from the University of Malawi (n = 251) and the University of Newcastle in Australia (n = 331) completed the Causes of Third World Poverty Questionnaire, which measures one dispositional factor (Blame the Poor) and three situational factors (Nature, National Governments, and International Exploitation). Strong advocates of donation behavior made the least dispositional attributions, but Malawians blamed dispositions more than did Australians, who blamed situations more than did Malawians. This reversed observer-actor bias underscores the critical influence of community context over societal culture and indicates that social cognition may be relevant to international aid efforts.