Who's to Blame? Attributions of Blame in Unsuccessful Mixed-Sex Work Teams

• Published in: Basic and applied social psychology Vol. 34; no. 6; pp. 558 - 564
• Main Authors: Haynes, Michelle C., Lawrence, Jason S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2012; Taylor & Francis; Psychology Press
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Blame; Feedback; Females; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender differences; Group dynamics; Males; Men; Mixed sex; Prostitution; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social attribution, perception and cognition; Social psychology; Social role. Sex role; Task Performance; Team work; Teams; Teamwork; Social environment; Human; Productivity; Sex role; Social group; Sex; Feedback regulation; Stereotype; Attribution; Social cognition; Occupational environment; Work team; Expectation; Performance
• ISSN: 0197-3533; 1532-4834
• DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2012.727312

This study examined how blame is attributed when mixed-sex teams produce unsuccessful work products. Participants read about a mixed-sex dyad that had worked together on a male sex-typed task and had an unsuccessful group outcome. We varied the information participants received about the performance on the group task. When the only performance information available was group-level feedback, participants attributed more blame to the female teammate than to the male teammate. However, when individual-level feedback was available, participants attributed more blame to the male teammate than the female teammate. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.