Title: Stereotyping
1Stereotyping
2What Are Stereotypes?
- There is neither time nor opportunity for
intimate acquaintances. Instead we notice a trait
which marks a well known type and fill in the
rest of the picture by means of the stereotypes
we carry about in our heads. - Our stereotyped world is not necessarily the
world we should like it to be. It is simply the
kind of world we expect it to be. -
- Walter Lippmann
(1922)
3Stereotype Components
- Culturally shared beliefs
- cognitive component (beliefs)
- affective component (feelings)
- behavioural component (actions)
- Categorical associations
-
- men are ?
- accountants are?
- Italians are?
4How De We Learn Stereotypes?
5A Chilling Example!
Children (24-28 months) touch more own sex
gender-typed toys (Levy,1999).
6Who Should Repair the Car?
- Levy, Sadovsky, Troseth (2000)
- preschoolers (3-4 years) viewed men as more
competent than women in male sex-typed jobs and
women as more competent than men in feminine
jobs.
7Habits of Thought
- What happens if childhood socialization
repeatedly furnishes one with stereotype-related
beliefs? - Do stereotypes become habits of mind?
-
8Is Stereotype Activation Inevitable?
- every event has certain marks that serve as a
cue to bring the category of prejudgment into
actionA person with dark brown skin will
activate whatever concept of African American is
dominant in our mind. - Allport (1954, p. 21)
- the mere presentation of a stimulus person
activates certain classification processes that
occur automatically and without conscious
intent. - Brewer (1988, p. 5)
9- because the stereotype has been frequently
activated in the past, it is a well-learned set
of associations that is automatically activated
in the presence of a member (or symbolic
equivalent) of the target group. - Devine (1989, p. 6)
10The Basic Problem!
- On exposure to a target, what gets activated in
mind?
11Measuring Stereotype ActivationSemantic Priming
Tasks
12Measuring Stereotype ActivationSemantic Priming
Tasks
Forgetful
skillful
13Automatic ActivationSome Early Evidence
- Dovidio et al. (1986)
- stereotypes are knowledge structures
- associative networks
- semantic priming to access associative
knowledge - letter string task
- doctor/nurse
- doctor/butter
14Dovidio et als (1986) ParadigmCould X ever be
true of Y?
- Task (verification task)
- participants presented with a priming label
(i.e., black or white) followed shortly
afterwards by a personality trait (e.g., musical)
or non-person descriptor (e.g., metallic) - Traits
- White Black
- ambitious musical
- practical sensitive
- conventional lazy
- stubborn imitative
15- Results
- participants responded more quickly when
stereotypic than non-stereotypic items were
presented - Problems?
- task demands (triggering category activation)
- labels (or words and images functionally
equivalent?)
16The Invisible PrimePurdue Gurtman (1990)
- kind
- is the word favorable or unfavorable?
- traits preceded by subliminal labels (old or
young) - Results - facilitatory priming observed
- Problems - words, evaluative (rather than
semantic) priming
17Devines (1989) Two-Process Model
- power of childhood socialization
- acquiring cultural beliefs
- societal knowledge vs. personal beliefs
- individual differences in prejudice
- high vs. low prejudice
- components of stereotyping
- automatic activation
- controlled inhibition
- replacing stereotypes with personal beliefs
18Knowledge of Cultural Stereotypes
- Stereotype Contents
- bagpipes
- booze
- stingy
- bigots humanitarians (Devine, 1989)
-
19Evaluate Donald Paradigm (Devine, 1989)
- Tasks
- Phase 1 parafoveal vigilance task (Negroes,
lazy, blues, Blacks, Africa, basketball) - Phase 2 person evaluation (Donald - Srull
Wyer, 1979) - ambiguously hostile behaviours - Results high-P participants rated Donald to be
more hostile than did low-P participants
20Automatic StereotypingA Slight Modification
- Lepore Brown (1997)
- categories vs. traits (Blacks vs. lazy) - what
activates the - stereotype?
- category primes only high-P participants
activate the stereotype - trait primes both high-P and low-P participants
activate the - stereotype
- individual differences in stereotype activation
(Locke et al., 1994 Wittenbrink et al., 1997)
21Challenging OrthodoxyIs Stereotype Activation
Really Inevitable?
- triggering stereotype activation (are images and
words equivalent?) -
Belly Dancer
22Determinants of Stereotype Activation Target
Salience
- frequency of occurrence
- are you unusual?
- immediate context
- are you contextually distinctive?
-
- processing goals
- are you relevant to my current processing
concerns? -
23Statistical FrequencyLanger et al. (1976)
24Solo or Token StatusTaylor Fiske (1978)
25Processing Goals
- chronic states of the person (Moskowitz et al.
2004) - traits, motives, goals
- transitory factors (Macrae et al., 1997)
- temporary goals
26Stereotype ActivationAlways or Sometimes?
27Stereotypes as Mental ToolsGilbert Hixon
(1991)
- anyone who has ever lent a socket wrench to a
forgetful neighbor knows that a tool is useful
only if one can find it. Stereotypes are forms of
information and, as such, are thought to be
stored in memory in a dormant state until they
are activated for use. - Gilbert Hixon (1991, p. 510)
- attention and stereotyping
28Gilbert Hixon (1991)Busyness and Stereotyping
- Task
- participants observe a woman (Caucasian or
Asian) turning over cards with a single word
fragment written on each card. - POLI_E
- complete the fragment with the first word that
comes to mind (SHY, SHORT, RICE) - participants
busy (digit rehearsal) or non-busy (control) - Results only non-busy participants activate the
stereotype (i.e., - conditional automaticity)
29Processing GoalsThe Inattentive Shopper (Macrae
et al. 1997)
30Processing Goals
ambitious (emotional) (flubitorso)
3 Tasks animacy (conceptual) dot
(perceptual) detection
31Category Accessibility
Macrae et al. (1997)
32Accessing Stereotypical Knowledge
- Macrae et al. (1997) in spot of bother
beyond the hopeful implication that
dermatologists are unlikely to stereotype their
patients, what is the real-world relevance of
studies involving such pre-semantic processing
goals? Bargh (1999)
33Context and Stereotype ActivationWittenbrink et
al. (2001)
In an evaluative priming task, activation of
African-American stereotype was moderated by the
context in which targets were located.
34Lecture 4Stereotype Application
35Why Do People Apply Stereotypes?
- personality approaches
-
- socio-cultural accounts
-
- cognitive perspective
-
36Applying StereotypesPossessing a Dodgy
Personality
- authoritarian personality (Adorno et al., 1950)
- intra-psychic conflict from childhood
(internalized values of the father) is projected
to other people (members of minority groups
ethnic, relgious, political) - societal
scapegoating. -
37Applying StereotypesLearning to Discriminate
- socio-cultural approaches (e.g., realistic
conflict theory, Sherif Sherif, 1953) -
- stereotypes are conceptualized as negative
beliefs about a group that serve to legitimize
the existing social structure (i.e., system
justification) -
38Applying StereotypesCognitive Efficiency
- cognitive perspective (Hamilton, 1981)
-
- stereotyping is a product of category
activation and basic cognitive limitations. -
39Applying StereotypesBasic Paradox
- perils of stereotypical thinking
- discrimination
- prejudice
- legal sanctions
- benefits of stereotypical thinking
- cognitive efficiency
-
40What Can Stereotyping Do For You?
- content-related effects
-
- structural effects (processing consequences)
- perception
- memory
- attention
-
-
41Accessing Stereotype ContentsTarget Enrichment
- semantic knowledge (Fiske Neuberg, 1990)
- traits
- behaviours
- opinions
- lifestyle
- indirect person knowledge
-
-
42Stereotypes and Information ProcessingPerceptual
Effects
- does stereotype application moderate the ease
with which people can detect information in the
world? - if so, which type of information is most
facilitated? -
43Activating Social StereotypesA Functional
Analysis
- stereotypical thinking is functional (Allport,
1954) - reducing the information-processing burden
- ease of detection
- perceptual identification
-
- measurement issues - climbing inside the head
44The Need For SpeedCategorical Person Perception
is Efficient
- perils of a cluttered mind
- enter the cognitive miser
- target simplification/elaboration
- some cognitive benefits
- stimulus location
- stimulus identification
-
- category priming
-
45Find the Word (Stereotype Priming)Congruent vs.
Irrelevant
- Q H A P P Y T V
- D P V M N I O B
- A E L Q B Y V T
- R N M K V R E A
- I P M I V W M L
- N C C N Y T A L
- G M L D Y T V R
- G S H N L R I O
46Find the Words
Number of Words
Macrae
et al. (1994).
47Stimulus Identification
- repeated presentation of degraded words
- dot density mask
- whats the word?
- number of trials taken
48v
49(No Transcript)
50Identify the Word
Number of Presentations
Macrae et al.
(1994)
51Stereotypes and Information ProcessingAttentiona
l Effects
- does stereotype application preserve valuable
attentional resources? - if so, when does this take place?
-
52Person ImpressionsWith and Without Stereotypes
- Nigel Julian
- (doctor) (artist)
- caring creative
- honest temperamental
- reliable sensitive
- responsible unconventional
- upstanding individualistic
- unlucky fearless
- forgetful active
- passive cordial
- clumsy progressive
- enthusiastic generous
53Person Memory
Macrae et al.
(1994)
54Knowledge about Indonesia?
Macrae et al. (1994)
55Efficiency and Automaticity
- stereotypical efficiency - conscious or
unconscious? - overt or covert allocation of attention?
- probe-reaction tasks
- turn off the sound
56Person ImpressionsWith and Without Visible and
Invisible Stereotypes
- Nigel Julian
- (doctor) (artist)
- caring creative
- honest temperamental
- reliable sensitive
- responsible unconventional
- upstanding individualistic
- unlucky fearless
- forgetful active
- passive cordial
- clumsy progressive
- enthusiastic generous
- 3 conditions
- category-supraliminal
- category-subliminal
- no category
Auditory Probe Reaction Task
57How Quickly Can You Turn Off the Sound?
Macrae et al. (1994)
58Stereotyping is Efficient
- Stereotypes
- (i) guide perception
- (ii) organize memories
- (iii) preserve attention
- Is stereotyping Intentional?
- awareness
- consent
59When are Stereotypes Most Likely to Be Deployed?
- Stereotypes save people the trouble of thinking
(Gilbert Hixon, 1991) -
- Stereotypes as judgmental heuristics
- motivation (e.g., involvement)
- speed (e.g., times pressures)
- attention (e.g., competing tasks)
60Stereotype ApplicationA Brief Review
- Task Complexity
- simple vs. complex judgments (Bodenhausen
Lichtenstein, 1987) - information overload (Bodenhausen Wyer, 1985)
-
- Time Pressures
- Dijker Koomen (1996)
- Dual Tasking
- cognitive load (Gilbert Hixon, 1991)
- Involvement with Target
- outcome dependence (Neuberg Fiske, 1987)
- accountability (Tetlock, 1983)
61Are You A Morning Person?Bodenhausen (1990)
62Reaching Your Peak
- attention and stereotyping
- stereotypes as heuristics
- laboratory manipulations
- naturalistic factors
- circadian variations
- morning vs. evening people
63Meeting Linda
- Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and
very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a
student, she was deeply concerned with issues of
discrimination and social justice, and also
participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations. - Which of the following is more likely to be true?
-
- Linda is a bank teller.
-
- Linda is a bank teller and is active in the
feminist movement.
64Conjunction Fallacy
- the erroneous belief that the joint probability
of two events is greater than the probability of
either of the constituent events separately.
65Committing the Conjunction Fallacy
Bodenhausen (1990)
66Unresolved IssuesSo What Exactly Gets Activated?
67The Problem of Multiple Construal
- categorical competition
- the winner takes it all
- but where do the losers go?
- consequences of category dominance
68A Wee Digression - Is That My Beer?The Case of
Competing Actions
69Is That My (Car) Parking Space?The Case of
Competing Memories
70What Does It Mean?Linguistic Ambiguity
- Under cover of darkness, Brian slipped into the
port. - It can be fun playing with your hair.
- It happened at the bank.
71Resolving Mental ConflictInhibition
- evolved solutions
- cognitive inhibition
- dampening competing representations
- conflict resolution
- inhibition and category activation
72The Case of the Asian WomanMacrae et al. (1995)
73Priming Categories
- dynamics of multiple construal
- priming categories
- winners losers
- are the losers inhibited?
74Experiment 1Parafoveal Priming
- Phase 1 - parafoveal priming (women or Chinese)
- Phase 2 - view videotape (Chinese woman reading a
book) - Phase 3 - lexical decision task (category
accessibility)
75Stereotype Accessibility
Macrae et al. (1995)
76Priming Through Behavior
77Experiment 2
- Phase 1 - view videotape
- eating with chopsticks vs. applying cosmetics
- Phase 2 - lexical decision task (category
accessibility)
78Stereotype Accessibility
Macrae et al. (1995)
79Inhibition and Category Selection
- dealing with conflict
- cognitive inhibition
- nature of inhibition
- lateral vs. strategic
- role of processing goals
- Sinclair Kunda (1999)
-
80Motivation and InhibitionSinclair Kunda (1999)
Favorable feedback - activate doctor, inhibit
Black Unfavorable feedback - activate Black,
inhibit doctor
81Consequences of Category Activation
- identity salience
- which identity dominates
- behavioral consequences
- stereotype threat
- scholastic performance (Steele Aronson, 1995)
- math test, diagnostic of abilities
- competing identities
- performance conflicts
82Math TestShih et al. (1999)
American Canadian samples
Asian vs. female identity
83Task Performance