diff --git a/rest_framework/settings.py b/rest_framework/settings.py
index 3f3c9110a..e18ddfda7 100644
--- a/rest_framework/settings.py
+++ b/rest_framework/settings.py
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ class APISettings(object):
 
         try:
             # Check if present in user settings
-            val = self.user_settings[attr]
+            val = self.user_settings[0][attr]
         except KeyError:
             # Fall back to defaults
             val = self.defaults[attr]