Trait expectancies and stereotype expectancies have the same eVect on person memory

Two studies examined whether trait expectancies and stereotype expectancies similarly aVected memory for expectancy-relevant behaviors. The results of both studies showed that, when activated in identical ways, trait expectancies and stereotype expectancies had similar eVects on recall. Better recall was obtained for expectancy-incongruent items when expectancies were activated in relatively overt ways, while better recall for expectancy-congruent items was obtained when expectancies were activated in less overt ways. Additional analyses examining the order of events that emerged in the recall protocols provided little evidence that participants attempted to reconcile the items, as would be predicted by some earlier models of person memory (e.g., Srull, 1981). The implications of these Wndings for how social expectancies guide social information processing are discussed. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.