Fencing off the deviant: The role of cognitive resources in the maintenance of stereotypes.

The role of cognitive resources in stereotype maintenance was examined. It was hypothesized that people's cognitive resources would condition the maintenance of stereotypes by affecting the ability to dismiss inconsistent target information. In Experiment 1, distracted and nondistracted participants formed an impression of a deviant target. As predicted, distraction was associated with less stereotypical views about the group. Experiment 2 replicated this finding using 3 deviant targets and 4 levels of distraction. Results also revealed that the perceived atypicality of the deviants mediated stereotype maintenance. Experiment 3 further showed that stereotypes remained intact only when participants were not distracted and when they had also received neutral information about the target. The discussion focuses on the role of cognitive resources in stereotyping and the effectiveness of exposure to disconfirmation in achieving stereotype change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Converging Evidence That Stereotype Threat Reduces Working Memory Capacity.

Although research has shown that priming negative stereotypes leads to lower performance among stigmatized individuals, little is understood about the cognitive mechanism that accounts for these effects. Three experiments tested the hypothesis that stereotype threat interferes with test performance because it reduces individuals' working memory capacity. Results show that priming self-relevant negative stereotypes reduces women's (Experiment 1) and Latinos' (Experiment 2) working memory capacity. The final study revealed that a reduction in working memory capacity mediates the effect of stereotype threat on women's math performance (Experiment 3). Implications for future research on stereotype threat and working memory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The Impact of Stereotype-Incongruent Information on Perceived Group Variability and Stereotype Change." Correction to Garcia-Marques and Mackie (1999).

Reports an error in "The impact of stereotype-incongruent information on perceived group variability and stereotype change" by Leonel Garcia-Marques and Diane M. Mackie (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999[Nov], Vol 77[5], 979-990). In this article, Table 3 (p. 987) contained an error. The row "Number of subgroups" was inadvertently omitted. The corrected table appears in this erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1999-01257-006.) Three experiments showed increases in the perceived variability of social groups after perceivers received stereotype-incongruent information about group members. In Experiment 1, participants generated flatter distributions after exposure to incongruent information, compared with equally deviant congruent information, in the form of typical verbal materials. Experiment 2 indicated similar changes in dispersion after the presentation of numeric information about a single group member. In Experiment 3, the authors manipulated cognitive load at encoding or at the time group judgments were requested. Under conditions of cognitive constraint, stereotype-incongruent information ceased to promote more dispersed group representations. These results are consistent with the idea that incongruent information triggers more deliberative and comprehensive retrieval and generation of exemplars. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for stereotype change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Rydell et al. (2010).

Reports an error in "The effect of negative performance stereotypes on learning" by Robert J. Rydell, Michael T. Rydell and Kathryn L. Boucher (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2010[Dec], Vol 99[6], 883-896). There is an error in the first paragraph of the Results section on page 886. The third sentence in this paragraph reads “As predicted, the stereotype threat manipulation did not affect women's learning of mathematical rules presented before the instructions, F (1, 57) = 0.68, p = .41, ηp2 = .01; however, women in the stereotype threat condition learned fewer mathematical rules presented after the instructions than did women in the control condition, F (1, 57) = 3.96, p = .05, ηp2 = .07.” Given the data, the second part of the sentence should have read “however, women in the stereotype threat condition showed a non-significant trend towards learning fewer mathematical rules presented after the instructions than did women in the control condition, F (1, 57) = 3.56, p = .064, ηp2 = .06.” (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2010-20715-001.) Stereotype threat (ST) research has focused exclusively on how negative group stereotypes reduce performance. The present work examines if pejorative stereotypes about women in math inhibit their ability to learn the mathematical rules and operations necessary to solve math problems. In Experiment 1, women experiencing ST had difficulty encoding math-related information into memory and, therefore, learned fewer mathematical rules and showed poorer math performance than did controls. In Experiment 2, women experiencing ST while learning modular arithmetic (MA) performed more poorly than did controls on easy MA problems; this effect was due to reduced learning of the mathematical operations underlying MA. In Experiment 3, ST reduced women's, but not men's, ability to learn abstract mathematical rules and to transfer these rules to a second, isomorphic task. This work provides the first evidence that negative stereotypes about women in math reduce their level of mathematical learning and demonstrates that reduced learning due to stereotype threat can lead to poorer performance in negatively stereotyped domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of negative performance stereotypes on learning.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 100(4) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2011-05716-002). There is an error in the first paragraph of the Results section on page 886. The third sentence in this paragraph reads “As predicted, the stereotype threat manipulation did not affect women's learning of mathematical rules presented before the instructions, F (1, 57) = 0.68, p = .41, ηp2 = .01; however, women in the stereotype threat condition learned fewer mathematical rules presented after the instructions than did women in the control condition, F (1, 57) = 3.96, p = .05, ηp2 = .07.” Given the data, the second part of the sentence should have read “however, women in the stereotype threat condition showed a non-significant trend towards learning fewer mathematical rules presented after the instructions than did women in the control condition, F (1, 57) = 3.56, p = .064, ηp2 = .06.”] Stereotype threat (ST) research has focused exclusively on how negative group stereotypes reduce performance. The present work examines if pejorative stereotypes about women in math inhibit their ability to learn the mathematical rules and operations necessary to solve math problems. In Experiment 1, women experiencing ST had difficulty encoding math-related information into memory and, therefore, learned fewer mathematical rules and showed poorer math performance than did controls. In Experiment 2, women experiencing ST while learning modular arithmetic (MA) performed more poorly than did controls on easy MA problems; this effect was due to reduced learning of the mathematical operations underlying MA. In Experiment 3, ST reduced women's, but not men's, ability to learn abstract mathematical rules and to transfer these rules to a second, isomorphic task. This work provides the first evidence that negative stereotypes about women in math reduce their level of mathematical learning and demonstrates that reduced learning due to stereotype threat can lead to poorer performance in negatively stereotyped domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Battle of the sexes: Gender stereotype confirmation and reactance in negotiations.

The authors examined how gender stereotypes affect negotiation performance. Men outperformed women when the negotiation was perceived as diagnostic of ability (Experiment 1) or the negotiation was linked to gender-specific traits (Experiment 2), suggesting the threat of negative stereotype confirmation hurt women's performance relative to men. The authors hypothesized that men and women confirm gender stereotypes when they are activated implicitly, but when stereotypes are explicitly activated, people exhibit stereotype reactance, or the tendency to behave in a manner inconsistent with a stereotype. Experiment 3 confirmed this hypothesis. In Experiment 4, the authors examined the cognitive processes involved in stereotype reactance and the conditions under which cooperative behaviors between men and women can be promoted at the bargaining table (by activating a shared identity that transcends gender). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal beliefs and cultural stereotypes about racial characteristics.

Social stereotypes may be expressed as personal beliefs about the characteristics of a group or as beliefs about the predominant cultural view of a group. In a study with a full intergroup design, Black and White participants rated Black and White racial groups. Results supported 3 sets of predictions derived from a projection model of stereotyping. First, participants' personal beliefs predicted their ratings of cultural stereotypes even when the group averages of personal beliefs and cultural stereotypes were statistically controlled. Second, interrater agreement in stereotype ratings was substantial for both rating tasks. Third, members of both groups underestimated how favorably their own group was rated by members of their respective out-group. Implications of the findings for the mental organizations of stereotypes, their measurement, and their consequences for social behavior are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of exemplars and abstractions in trait judgments: A model of trait knowledge about the self and others.

According to pure exemplar models, trait judgments about the self and others are accomplished by retrieving from memory trait-exemplifying behaviors and computing the similarity between the trait and the exemplars retrieved. By contrast, pure abstraction models argue that trait judgments are made by directly accessing abstract, summary knowledge of the person's traits. In a series of 4 studies, the role of behavioral exemplars and abstract trait knowledge in trait judgments about others and about the self was examined. The findings show that both types of information are used to make trait judgments but that the relative importance of each type is determined by the amount of trait-exemplifying behavioral experience one has with the person being judged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Complementary Justice: Effects of "Poor but Happy" and "Poor but Honest" Stereotype Exemplars on System Justification and Implicit Activation of the Justice Motive.

It was hypothesized that exposure to complementary representations of the poor as happier and more honest than the rich would lead to increased support for the status quo. In Study 1, exposure to "poor but happy" and "rich but miserable" stereotype exemplars led people to score higher on a general measure of system justification, compared with people who were exposed to noncomplementary exemplars. Study 2 replicated this effect with "poor but honest" and "rich but dishonest" complementary stereotypes. In Studies 3 and 4, exposure to noncomplementary stereotype exemplars implicitly activated justice concerns, as indicated by faster reaction times to justice-related than neutral words in a lexical decision task. Evidence also suggested that the Protestant work ethic may moderate the effects of stereotype exposure on explicit system justification (but not implicit activation). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood and the correction of positive versus negative stereotypes.

The present research examined the effects of sadness on the correction of social stereotypes. Participants who either were or were not induced to feel sad were asked to form an impression of a single individual who belonged to a group that had either stereotypically positive or negative implications. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that sad people corrected for their negative, but not for their positive stereotypes. Experiment 3 demonstrated that this asymmetry was not due to stereotype valence per se but to whether the stereotype was perceived as an inappropriate basis for judgment. A model is presented that suggests that sad people do not simply ignore category-based information, but rather correct for their stereotypes only when they are perceived as inappropriate, which tends to be more often the case if the stereotype is negative than if it is positive. The implications of the present results for 4 extant models of mood and information processing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Girls' math performance under stereotype threat: The moderating role of mothers' gender stereotypes.

Previous research on stereotype threat in children suggests that making gender identity salient disrupts girls' math performance at as early as 5 to 7 years of age. The present study (n = 124) tested the hypothesis that parents' endorsement of gender stereotypes about math moderates girls' susceptibility to stereotype threat. Results confirmed that stereotype threat impaired girls' performance on math tasks among students from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Moreover, mothers' but not fathers' endorsement of gender stereotypes about math moderated girls' vulnerability to stereotype threat: Performance of girls whose mothers strongly rejected the gender stereotype about math did not decrease under stereotype threat. These findings are important because they point to the role of mothers' beliefs in the development of girls' vulnerability to the negative effects of gender stereotypes about math. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived consensus influences intergroup behavior and stereotype accessibility.

Past research has demonstrated the powerful influence other people have on the thoughts and behaviors of individuals. However, the study of intergroup attitudes has focused primarily on the influence of direct exposure to out-group members as determinants of stereotypes and prejudice. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that learning that others share one's intergroup beliefs influences intergroup attitudes and behavior as well as stereotype representation. Experiment 1 demonstrated that learning that one's beliefs are shared or not shared with others influences attitudes, behavior, and the strength of the attitude–behavior relationship. Experiment 2 demonstrated a potential mechanism for such effects by showing that learning about whether others share one's stereotypes influences the accessibility of those stereotypes and related stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of stereotype-incongruent information on perceived group variability and stereotype change.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 78(4) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2007-17406-001). In this article, Table 3 (p. 987) contained an error. The row "Number of subgroups" was inadvertently omitted. The corrected table appears in this erratum.] Three experiments showed increases in the perceived variability of social groups after perceivers received stereotype-incongruent information about group members. In Experiment 1, participants generated flatter distributions after exposure to incongruent information, compared with equally deviant congruent information, in the form of typical verbal materials. Experiment 2 indicated similar changes in dispersion after the presentation of numeric information about a single group member. In Experiment 3, the authors manipulated cognitive load at encoding or at the time group judgments were requested. Under conditions of cognitive constraint, stereotype-incongruent information ceased to promote more dispersed group representations. These results are consistent with the idea that incongruent information triggers more deliberative and comprehensive retrieval and generation of exemplars. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for stereotype change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The prejudiced personality revisited: Personal need for structure and formation of erroneous group stereotypes.

Two studies explored the relation between personal need for structure (PNS) and a reasoning process through which stereotypes may form. Participants viewed information about the performance of group members on intelligence-related tasks and then indicated their inference strategies and impressions of the groups. Results indicated that high-PNS participants were more likely than low-PNS participants to form erroneous group stereotypes. Individual differences in attributional complexity and need for cognition also predicted stereotype formation under some conditions. The effects of PNS and other cognitive personality variables were weakened under conditions in which participants believed that they would have to justify their impressions publicly. Discussion focuses on processes underlying the relation between PNS and stereotype formation and on relations among personality, social context, and social inference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic stereotypes: The significance of consensus.

Investigated whether the degree of consensus in trait attribution to ethnic groups has any particular meaning to the individual. Canadian 9th and 12th graders (n = 36) were presented with traits previously found in the stereotypes about different groups, and asked to identify the ethnic group so characterized. 3 independent variables were manipulated: consensus of the attributes, age of the Ss, and the number of attributes presented. Dependent variables included the accuracy and the perceived difficulty of identification. Results indicate that the degree of consensus in the stereotype had considerable information value to the Ss. This suggests that stereotypes generally develop from information available to a community, and that the consensus noted in stereotype assessment procedures reflects the consistency of this information. (French summary) (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotype threat effects on Black and White athletic performance.

Two experiments showed that framing an athletic task as diagnostic of negative racial stereotypes about Black or White athletes can impede their performance in sports. In Experiment 1, Black participants performed significantly worse than did control participants when performance on a golf task was framed as diagnostic of "sports intelligence." In comparison, White participants performed worse than did control participants when the golf task was framed as diagnostic of 'natural athletic ability." Experiment 2 observed the effect of stereotype threat on the athletic performance of White participants for whom performance in sports represented a significant measure of their self-worth. The implications of the findings for the theory of stereotype threat (C. M. Steele, 1997) and for participation in sports are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotype formation: Biased by association.

We propose that biases in attitude and stereotype formation might arise as a result of learned differences in the extent to which social groups have previously been predictive of behavioral or physical properties. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrate that differences in the experienced predictiveness of groups with respect to evaluatively neutral information influence the extent to which participants later form attitudes and stereotypes about those groups. In contrast, Experiment 3 shows no influence of predictiveness when using a procedure designed to emphasize the use of higher level reasoning processes, a finding consistent with the idea that the root of the predictiveness bias is not in reasoning. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrate that the predictiveness bias in formation of group beliefs does not depend on participants making global evaluations of groups. These results are discussed in relation to the associative mechanisms proposed by Mackintosh (1975) to explain similar phenomena in animal conditioning and associative learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action.

Previous research has shown that trait concepts and stereotypes become active automatically in the presence of relevant behavior or stereotyped-group features. Through the use of the same priming procedures as in previous impression formation research, Experiment 1 showed that participants whose concept of rudeness was primed interrupted the experimenter more quickly and frequently than did participants primed with polite-related stimuli. In Experiment 2, participants for whom an elderly stereotype was primed walked more slowly down the hallway when leaving the experiment than did control participants, consistent with the content of that stereotype. In Experiment 3, participants for whom the African American stereotype was primed subliminally reacted with more hostility to a vexatious request of the experimenter. Implications of this automatic behavior priming effect for self-fulfilling prophecies are discussed, as is whether social behavior is necessarily mediated by conscious choice processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of the college placement process on occupational stereotype.

Tested 207 male graduating college seniors enrolled in the schools of engineering and business and actively engaged in college placement activities before and after a placement process to measure perceptions of their chosen occupation's stereotype. Concurrently 186 practicing professional engineers and businessmen were tested to determine their respective occupational stereotypes. An adjective association instrument was used to assess stereotype. It was hypothesized that business students experience a shift in perceptions of their chosen occupation's stereotype during the college placement process while similar engineering students do not. Results indicate that business students, engineering students, professional engineers, and businessmen could individually identify unique occupational stereotypes. A qualitative change in the business students' perception of the business occupational stereotype was found while engineering students did not experience any significant change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An individual and quantitative measure of stereotypes.

Proposes a quantitative and individual measure of stereotyping, based on defining stereotypes as probabilistic predictions that distinguish the stereotyped group from others. Data indicate that the proposed measure, though related to the familiar Katz and Braly (D. Katz and K. W. Braly, 1933) checklist, is a substantially new measure of stereotyping rather than simply a quantitative version of the checklist. It is argued that the theoretical and empirical value of the proposed measure is justification for abandoning the Katz and Braly measure. Theoretically, the new measure relates stereotype research to attribution theory as part of a Bayesian approach to the psychology of prediction. Empirically, the new measure opens interesting questions about stereotypes, especially about stereotype validity and the "kernel of truth" hypothesis. A study using the new measure revealed that diverse groups of Ss (N?=?75) had some similar stereotypes of Black Americans, that these stereotypes were relatively accurate, and that contrary to the "kernel of truth" hypothesis, these stereotypes were seldom exaggerated. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)