Steven J. Stroessner

Prejudice and Stereotype Maintenance Processes: Attention, Attribution, and Individuation.

Three experiments examined the relationship between prejudice and processing of stereotypic information. Higher levels of prejudice were associated with greater attention to and more thorough encoding of stereotype-inconsistent than stereotype-consistent behaviors but only when processing capacity was plentiful (Experiments 1 and 3). High-prejudice participants attributed consistent behaviors to internal factors and inconsistent behaviors to external forces (Experiment 2). Together, these results suggest that high-prejudice people attend carefully to inconsistent behaviors to explain them away but only if they have sufficient resources to do so. Results also showed that low-prejudice but not high-prejudice participants formed individuated impressions by integrating the implications of the targets behaviors (i.e., individuating). High levels of prejudice appear to be associated with biased encoding and judgment processes that may serve to maintain stereotypes.

The Roles of Motivation and Ability in Controlling the Consequences of Stereotype Suppression

Two experiments investigated the conditions under which previously suppressed stereotypes are applied in impression formation. In Experiment 1, the extent to which a previously suppressed racial stereotype influenced subsequent impressions depended on the race of the target who was subsequently encountered. Whereas impressions of race-unspecified targets were assimilated to the stereotype following its suppression, no such effects were observed when the target belonged to the racial group whose stereotype had been initially suppressed. These results demonstrate that when perceivers are motivated to avoid stereotyping individuals, the influence of a stereotype that has been previously activated through suppression is minimized. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these processing goals effectively reduce the impact of suppression-activated stereotypes only when perceivers have sufficient capacity to enact the goals. These results suggest that both sufficient motivation and capacity are necessary to prevent heightened stereotyping following stereotype suppression.

The Impact of Induced Affect on the Perception of Variability in Social Groups

Two studies examined the effects of mood on perceptions of intragroup variability. Following exposure to positive, neutral, or negative mood-inducing stimuli, subjects read information about behaviors performed by members of a group. The group was either high or low in intragroup behavioral variability. In contrast to those in a neutral mood, subjects in a positive or negative mood did not produce differential variability judgments for the two groups. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and indicated that happy, but not sad, subjects showed other indexes of reduced processing. Possible cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying reduced perception of intragroup variability are discussed.

Positive Mood and the Perception of Variability Within and Between Groups

Three experiments investigated the effects of positive mood on perceptions of variability within and between groups. Participants formed impressions of two different and highly variable groups under a neutral or positive mood. When participants expected to learn about both groups, positive mood increased perceived intergroup similarity but did not affect perceived intragroup variability. In contrast, when participants expected to learn about only one group, judgments of intergroup and intragroup similarity were both affected by mood. Mood and the intergroup context influenced the nature and degree of information processing and resultant judgments of variability in social groups.