Processing auditory information: Interaction of two population stereotypes.

40 undergraduates moved a toggle switch up or down depending on the pitch (high or low) of a stimulus tone that emanated from a top or bottom speaker. Ss were instructed to move the switch up in response to the high-pitched tone and down in response to the low-pitched tone (corresponding stimulus-response mapping) while the other 20 were given the reverse tone-response rule (noncorresponding stimulus-response mapping). Reactions were faster on corresponding than on noncorresponding trials, and on the corresponding trials, Ss responded faster when the source and symbolic content of the auditory stimulus coresponded than when they did not. Results are discussed in terms of an interaction between 2 potent population stereotypes, a frequency-space stereotype and a tendency to respond toward the source of stimulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)