Lay explanations for the causes of unemployment in Britain: Economic, individualistic, societal, or fatalistic?

Examined explanations for unemployment provided by 900 adults in a market survey conducted in the UK. Data were examined in 2 ways: The 1st categorized responses according to economic explanations and the 2nd used "social" explanations. These social explanations include individualistic ones (e.g., attributing causes to personal laziness and unwillingness to work), societal causes, and inevitable or fatalistic explanations. The possible role of these lay explanations in legitimizing current government policy is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).