On the Overestimation of Between-group Differences

The overestimation of between-group differences is a central characteristic of social stereotyping. The present review focuses on exemplar-based category learning. Evidence is presented for the assumptions that: (a) contrast effects need to be distinguished from accentuation effects; (b) both effects are general cognitive-perceptual phenomena; and (c) they affect stereotype formation as well as stereotype change. The implications of the overestimation of betweengroup differences for person perception and conflict resolution are discussed. Long before the experimental study of intergroup relations and stereotyping had even begun, Freud characterized the effects of social grouping on