A model linking causal attribution and cultural stereotypes through the mediating influence of expectancies is proposed and tested. Expectancies are believed to be based on cultural stereotypes (Deaux, 1984) and it has been shown that when expectancies are disconfirmed, attributions will be unstable and situational. This model was tested with Maori and Pakeha adolescents. Strong stereotypes emerged but, contrary to predictions, Pakeha subjects did not rate Maoris more positively than themselves on any dimensions, and, in line with Tajfel and Turner's (1979) discussion of minority group behaviour, this negative image of Maoris appears to have been adopted by Maoris themselves. Across other measures a similiar pattern, though less extreme, emerged. While there was minimal support for the links between causal attributions and expectancies, and between cultural stereotypes and expectancies, there was no support for the proposed mediational model. This failure to replicate previous empirical findings is discussed in terms of the differential accessibility of the cultural stereotypes during the collection of causal attributions in this and previous experiments.