Margaret, that is really impressive. I may add yet another example to support your argument: attribution of guilt for a transgression. If a woman screws up on a job or black person is caught shoplifting - the attribution of guilt is often to the salient gender/ethnicity characteristic - as something to be expected of woman or an African American. By contrast, when a male committs a crime - that is usually seen as an individual aberration rather than a pattern or male propensity toward antisocial behavior. Thus, our jails hold some 90% of exceptions to the virtue of being a male!
Social proximity, as you claim, undoubtedly plays a role in that attribution, but I would also emphasize the power structure: members of dominant groups are always portrayed as individuals. Thus, Millikens may be socially distant to most US-ers, but they are members of the ruling elite - so their crrimina behavior is alsways individual aberration, never an example of the rule.
Our wonderful educational system actively contributes to that stereotyping - just look at the graduation ceremonies, who is recognized individually, and who is recorgnized collectively.
Wojtek
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