Attributions in personal and hierarchical contexts

In a statement about refusal of good advice, descriptions of refuser and adviser are varied. Choices from words referring to refuser traits of different degrees of insultingness are made by 250 participants divided into 5 treatment groups. Transposition of refuser and adviser matters when they are described as white employer and black servant, but not when described as self and friend. Instead of “kicking themselves” relatively hard, participants are lenient towards the self.