Stereotypes are often presumed to exaggerate group differences, but empirical evidence is mixed. We suggest exaggeration is moderated by the accessibility of specific stereotype content. In particular, because the most accessible stereotype contents are attributes perceived to differ between groups, those attributes are most likely to exaggerate actual group differences due to regression to the...

Although much research on stereotyping has documented significant negative consequences for the targets of unfavorable racial stereotypes, relatively little work has examined negative implications for the holders of such stereotypes. The present research highlights a notable cost for stereotype holders. In two studies, we demonstrated that racial stereotype activation can elicit maladaptive, st...

Existing theories of stereotype change have often made use of categorisation principles in order to provide qualitative explanations for both the revision and maintenance of stereotypical beliefs. The present paper examines the quantitative methods underlying these explanations, contrasting both rational and heuristic models of stereotype change using participant data and model fits. In a compa...

This paper describes a research that gives an indication of the use of personal profiling techniques for stereotype profiling. A stereotype might be seen as a ‘single person’ that represents a group and so personal filtering might be used for stereotype filtering. To test this, a group of 6 people used an adapted internet browser with a single personal profile and ranked a set of documents afte...

Belonging to a stereotyped social group can affect performance in stereotype-relevant situations, often shifting performance in the direction of the stereotype. This effect occurs similarly for members of positively and negatively stereotyped groups (i.e., stereotype boost and stereotype threat, respectively). This study examined ethnic group identification as a moderator of these effects in th...

The authors describe a theoretical framework for understanding when people interacting with a member of a stereotyped group activate that group's stereotype and apply it to that person. It is proposed that both stereotype activation and stereotype application during interaction depend on the strength of comprehension and self-enhancement goals that can be satisfied by stereotyping one's interac...

144 words) Stereotype threat often incurs the cost of reducing the amount of information that older adults accurately recall. In the current research we tested whether stereotype threat can also benefit memory. According to the regulatory focus account of stereotype threat, threat induces a prevention focus in which people become concerned with avoiding errors of commission and are sensitive to...

Variationists have largely, though often implicitly, subscribed to a model of social cognition that characterizes complex social reasoning as conscious and deliberative (e.g. the sociolinguistic monitor), in opposition to rapid and automatic linguistic behaviors (e.g. the vernacular). This paper argues against that assumption, presenting evidence from the field of social cognition which documen...

People associate certain behaviors with certain social groups. These stereotypical beliefs consist of both accurate and inaccurate associations. Using large-scale, data-driven methods with social media as a context, we isolate stereotypes by using verbal expression. Across four social categories—gender, age, education level, and political orientation—we identify words and phrases that lead peop...

Stereotype threat research shows that when stigmatized group membership is made salient, group members' cognitive performance is lowered; however, the mechanism through which this effect operates is not well understood. This study tests between arousal and ego depletion accounts of stereotype threat by examining whether stereotype threat effects are mitigated or exacerbated by increasing glucos...