Role of meaningful subgroups in explaining differences in perceived variability for in-groups and out-groups

Zooming in and out of semantics: proximal-distal construal levels and prominence hierarchies

We argue that the "Prominence Hierarchy" within linguistics can be subsumed under the "Construal Level Theory" within psychology and that a wide spectrum of grammatical phenomena, ranging from case assignment to number, definiteness, verbal agreement, voice, direct/inverse morphology, and syntactic word-order respond to Prominence Hierarchies (PH), or semantic scales. In fact, the field of prominence hierarchies, as expressed through the languages of the world, continues to be riddled with riddles. We identify a set of conundrums: (A) vantage point and animacy, (B) individuation and narrow reference phenomena, (C) fronting mechanisms, (D) abstraction, and (E) cultural variance and flexibility. We here propose an account for the existence of these hierarchies and their pervasive effects on grammar by relying on psychological Construal Level Theory (CLT). We suggest that both PH and CLT structure the external world according to proximity or distance from the "Me, Here and Now" (MHN) perspective. In language, MHN has the effect of structuring grammars; in cognition, it structures our lives, our preferences, and choices.

Inducing perceived group variability triggers the incorporation of counter-stereotypic information into a generalized stereotype change

Perceived variability is the extent to which individuals perceive group members as being similar to one another. Previous research has focused on how: group variability is perceived (and measured); information indicative of group heterogeneity can lead to reductions in stereotypicality; or how stereotype-inconsistent information can result into increased perceived variability. The present combines the three lines of research into a single research venue. In previous studies the stereotypicality of a group representation was influenced by priming stereotype-unrelated traits in an unrelated-context, prior to stereotype measurement; but priming counter-stereotypic traits had no effect on stereotypicality, although it boosted perceptions of group's variability. The present study examines whether highlighting dissimilarities among members of the same professional groups results in subsequent changes in the reported stereotype for a, not yet mentioned, group. The more the dissimilarity among group members, the more likely individuals were to incorporate counter-stereotypic information into the targeted-group, described as less stereotypic, even in central tendency measures. Importantly, the generating mechanism may involve a modification of participants' overall perception of variability. When members within professional groups are perceived as dissimilar, the well-known resistance of stereotypes to counter-stereotypic information is lessened making the group representations more flexible and less biased.

Structure learning principles of stereotype change

Why, when, and how do stereotypes change? This paper develops a computational account based on the principles of structure learning: stereotypes are governed by probabilistic beliefs about the assignment of individuals to groups. Two aspects of this account are particularly important. First, groups are flexibly constructed based on the distribution of traits across individuals; groups are not fixed, nor are they assumed to map on to categories we have to provide to the model. This allows the model to explain the phenomena of group discovery and subtyping, whereby deviant individuals are segregated from a group, thus protecting the group's stereotype. Second, groups are hierarchically structured, such that groups can be nested. This allows the model to explain the phenomenon of subgrouping, whereby a collection of deviant individuals is organized into a refinement of the superordinate group. The structure learning account also sheds light on several factors that determine stereotype change, including perceived group variability, individual typicality, cognitive load, and sample size.

The Effect of First-Hand and Second-Hand Knowledge on Perceived Group Homogeneity and Certainty About Stereotype-Based Inferences

Stereotypes are often used to make inferences about others, yet can lead to problematic consequences, which get exacerbated when people are more confident in these inferences. The current research examines whether biases in people's first-hand and second-hand information about groups make groups appear overly homogeneous, leading to more confident inferences about group members. Supporting this, across two studies, groups appeared more homogeneous when people lacked first-hand information from personal experience with a group, as well as when stereotypes were based on second-hand information from the media or other people. However, only second-hand information increased confidence about group members, as lacking first-hand information reduced confidence about what groups and group members were like. Biases in homogeneity also had greater impact for typical rather than atypical group members. Thus, people may be especially confident in stereotype-based inferences when stereotypes are based on second-hand information and when group members appear typical of their group.

When company decisions harm or help the environment: the influence of social context and affective state on moral and causal responsibility attributions

Holding companies accountable for their decisions’ environmental side effects becomes increasingly important in the light of current debates on the climate crisis. The present study investigated a young sample’s (n = 925) causal and moral responsibility attributions to a company’s manager and their subordinate employee, who were either young or middle-aged. The agents jointly made a profit-oriented decision which either harmed or helped the environment. Results were analyzed with respect to the valence of the side effect, the agents’ social role, the agents’ age group, and participants’ affective state. We successfully replicated findings from prior studies, showing that more intention and moral responsibility is ascribed to the manager in case of a negative side effect than in case of a positive side effect, and that the manager deserves more blame for negative side effects than the employee, whereas the employee deserves more praise for positive side effects. Additionally, responsibility attributions varied with the agents’ age group, participants’ positive and negative affective state, and participants’ gender. By incorporating these hitherto neglected factors, the study complements existing theories of responsibility attribution and intergroup perception. The findings further highlight the contribution of affective mechanisms as driving factors of responsibility attributions. Combining moral responsibility research, intergroup research, and affective measures promises to foster the understanding of how and to whom people ascribe blame, praise, and causal responsibility for environmental consequences.

Beyond the Superordinate Categories of "Gay Men" and "Lesbian Women": Identification of Gay and Lesbian Subgroups

Nation-wide opinion polls and social scientific studies indicate that evaluations of gay men and lesbian women have become increasingly favourable. These positive trends do not explain the widespread discrimination experiences being reported. To assist researchers in investigating attitudes towards gay and lesbian persons, the current research examines whether there are multiple "types" that are identifiable and salient. Two Canadian studies (Ns = 67 and 206) were conducted to establish the presence of gay and lesbian subgroups. Using subgroups generated by Study 1 participants, community and student sub-samples selected those they perceive to exist. Results indicated that, for gay men, the subgroups Drag Queen and Flamboyant emerged, as did Butch for lesbian women. Amongst students, Closeted and Feminine also emerged for gay men, as well as Feminist and Tomboy for lesbian women. These findings have implications for contemporary research on gay- and lesbian-related attitudes and the methodology used to assess them.

Social-Structure Learning

Social-structure learning is the process by which social groups are identified on the basis of experience. Building on models of structure learning in other domains, we formalize this problem within a Bayesian framework. According to this framework, the probabilistic assignment of individuals to groups is computed by combining information about individuals with prior beliefs about group structure. Experiments with adults and children provide support for this framework, ruling out alternative accounts based on dyadic similarity. More broadly, we highlight the implications of social-structure learning for intergroup cognition, stereotype updating, and coalition formation.

The Out-Group Homogeneity Effect Across Development: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

The present studies investigated the out-group homogeneity effect in 5- and 8-year-old Israeli and German children (n = 150) and adults (n = 96). Participants were asked to infer whether a given property (either biological or psychological) was true of an entire group-either the participants' in-group ("Jews" or "Germans") or their out-group ("Arabs" or "Turks"). To that end, participants had to select either a homogenous or a heterogeneous sample of group members. It was found that across ages and countries, participants selected heterogeneous samples less often when inferring the biological properties of out-compared to in-group members. No effect was found regarding psychological properties. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the origins of intergroup bias.

Subtyping and Subgrouping: Processes for the Prevention and Promotion of Stereotype Change

Two processes of stereotyping, subtyping and subgrouping, are compared. Subtyping occurs when perceivers respond to members of a target group who disconfirm their stereotypes by seeing them as exceptions to the rule and placing them in a separate subcategory apart from members who confirm the stereotype. The more recently defined process of subgrouping refers to the perceiver's organization of information in terms of clusters of individuals based on their similarities and differences; subgroups can include confirmers and disconfirmers. We consider how subtypes and subgroups are defined, operationalized, and measured, their consequences for stereotype change, and the role of typicality. It is concluded that the clearest difference between subtyping and subgrouping is in terms of their consequences (subtyping leads to the preservation and subgrouping to differentiation of the stereotype). There are, however, some similarities between the processes, and attention is drawn to whatfuture research is required, both to deepen our knowledge of each process and clarify their distinction.

Cross-National Outgroup Homogeneity: United States and South African Stereotypes

Research on cross-national stereotypes has been largely descriptive, primarily examining the content of such stereotypes rather than exploring more process-related issues concerning stereotype formation, use, and change. One particular component of stereotypes that has implications for these issues is the perceived variability of social categories. In this article we report data from white United States and South African samples on the perceived variability of both groups. We find consistent support for the outgroup homogeneity effect in these data, that is, the tendency to see outgroups as less variable than ingroups. Additionally, we show that the perception of outgroup variability is negatively related to ethnocentrism or the tendency to engage in outgroup derogation. Finally, we explore whether outgroup familiarity and knowledge moderate these effects.

Measuring the Measures

We meta-analytically synthesized the intergroup variability literature (177 effect sizes, from 173 independent samples, and 12,078 participants) to test the potential moderating effect of 11 measures of perceived variability. Aggregating across the measures, we detected a small but reliable tendency to perceive more variability among ingroup than outgroup members and such outgroup homogeneity was stronger among non-minimal than minimal groups. Furthermore, analyses that distinguished among the 11 measures revealed systematic discrepancies among the patterns of perception detected by those measures. Those systematic discrepancies further varied across social contexts defined by relative group status, with some measures yielding ingroup homogeneity and others outgroup homogeneity. We discuss the possibility that the measures of variability require different mental activities that interact with contextually induced cognitive and motivational processes to yield disparate intergroup perceptions.

The Impact of a Passing Reference to Race on Perceptions of Out-Group Differentiation: `If You've Seen One...'

Although a considerable amount of attention has been given to the cognitive origins, and the resulting consequences, of out-group variability effects, little research has examined the extent to which perceptions of variability are influenced by social interactions. In the current study, participants heard about a person who was assaulted by either a Black or a White assailant. They then completed a group differentiation measure. As expected, participants in the Black assailant condition perceived Blacks in a less differentiated manner than participants in either the control or the White assailant conditions.

Grandparent-Grandchild Contact and Attitudes Toward Older Adults: Moderator and Mediator Effects

Two studies tested the intergroup contact hypothesis in the context of the grandparent-grandchild relationship. The hypothesis suggests that contact with an out-group member has more influence on attitudes toward the out-group when group memberships are salient. In Study 1, the predicted link was found but only for grandparents with whom the grandchild had more frequent contact. The second study examined only the most frequent grandparent relationship and replicated the effect. This study also investigated the role of various mediators of the link between quality of contact and attitudes, as well as quality of contact and perceived out-group variability. Perspective taking, anxiety, and accommodation mediated the effects of contact on attitudes, whereas individuation and self-disclosure mediated the effects of contact on perceived out-group variability. Moderated mediational analysis indicated that the moderating effect of group salience occurs between quality of contact and the mediator, not between the mediator and attitudes.

Differential Use of the Availability Heuristic in Social Judgment

Three experiments demonstrate that chronic applicability regulates the use of two types of information associated with the availability heuristic. In Experiment 1, participants used subjective experience of ease of retrieving behavioral instances when judging out-groups but used the number of behaviors retrieved when judging in-groups. In Experiment 2, manipulating the diagnosticity of experience of ease affected out-group but not in-group judgment. When experience of ease was diagnostic, results replicated Experiment 1; however, when experience of ease was nondiagnostic, the number of behaviors recalled was used in both in-group and out-group judgment. In Experiment 3, participants used the experience of ease to judge close friends but the number of behaviors retrieved to judge casual acquaintances. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that chronic patterns of information use and immediate situational cues define the applicability of accessible information to the judgment at hand.

Relationship between Self-Typicality and the In-Group Subtypes Effect

According to previous research, members of a social category draw a greater number of subtype distinctions within their own category than nonmembers do. But do category members themselves differ in the number of in-group subtype distinctions that they draw? In Study 1, students who considered themselves relatively typical of their fraternity or sorority listed a greater number of subtypes for their own than for other fraternities or sororities; students who considered themselves relatively atypical did not. In Study 2, athletes listed a greater number of subtypes for their own sports team if they were considered relatively typical by both themselves and teammates than if they were considered relatively typical only by themselves, only by teammates, or by neither. Possible explanations for the "in-group subtypes effect" are discussed.

Effects of Stereotypicality and Perceived Group Variability on the Use of Attitudinal Information in Impression Formation

In line with Susan Fiske and Steven Neuberg's continuum model of impression formation, it was found that when a social category was perceived as homogeneous on a stereotypic trait, a target's behavioral discrepancy from that stereotype elicited attention to and elaboration of individuating information. Individuating information consisted of the target person's attitude toward a stereotype-unrelated issue. Perceived variability was manipulated. Impressions of the stimulus person were related to participants'own attitude toward the issue, suggesting a similarity attraction effect. In the atypical-behavior/low-variability condition, this relationship was mediated by attitude-related thoughts. This suggests a cognitive-response-mediated similarity-attraction effect leading to relatively individuated impressions. All results were consistent across two different stimulus groups that were associated with complementary stereotypes.

The Influence of Group Variability and Processing Goals on the Ease of Making Judgments about Social Categories

This article examined the effects of group variability and processing goals on the ease of making judgments about social groups. Participants were presented with a heterogeneous or homogeneous category and were instructed either to form an impression of the group (impression set) or to attend to the similarities among, and the differences between, group members (integration set). Under impression sets, we predicted that participants would find it harder to judge heterogeneous groups as compared to homogeneous groups. Under integration sets, however, judgments were predicted to be relatively easy, regardless of group variability. These predictions were supported, regardless of whether judgment ease was operationalized via response latencies (Experiment 1) or through subjective reports (Experiment 2). Experiment 2 suggested that these effects were driven by the effects of group variability and instructional set on the importance of subtypes formed at the subordinate level. Implications of these results for research on the consequences of group variability are discussed.

Perceptions of Disadvantage Versus Conventionality: Political Values and Attitudes Toward the Elderly Versus Blacks

This article examines the role of political ideology in social prejudice. In contrast to a simple bipolar conceptualization of liberalism and conservatism, the authors present a framework stipulating that (a) liberalism is associated with the desire to assist disadvantaged groups but (b) conservatism is associated with respect for conventional, old-fashioned values. Unlike Blacks (who are potentially viewed by White Americans as both unconventional and disadvantaged), the elderly are highly disadvantaged but relatively conventional. On the basis of these differences, the authors predicted that liberalism would be positively correlated with attitudes toward both groups, whereas conservatism would be negatively correlated with attitudes toward Blacks but positively correlated with attitudes toward the elderly. This framework received strong support and, moreover, successfully predicted reactions to other types of groups that varied in terms of their conventionality/disadvantaged status. Implications for research on stereotypes and possible conceptualizations of political ideology are discussed.

Dimensions of Contact as Predictors of Intergroup Anxiety, Perceived Out-Group Variability, and Out-Group Attitude: An Integrative Model

This study tested an integrative model of how dimensions of contact (quantitative, qualitative, and intergroup) are related to intergroup anxiety, perceived out-group variability, and out group attitude. Data were collected in a field study of minority (Hindu) and majority (Muslim) religious groups in Bangladesh. Path analysis revealed that dimensions of contact were significant predictors of all three criterion variables, although different dimensions emerged as predictors in each case, and there were some interactions with subjects' religious group. AU three dimensions of contact were associated with intergroup anxiety, but whereas quantitative contact had a significant impact on perceived out-group variability, qualitative contact was associated with out-group attitude. The model highlights the central role of intergroup anxiety as associated with dimensions of contact and as a predictor of perceived out-group variability and out-group attitude.

Accuracy of Black and White College Students' In-Group and Out-Group Stereotypes

The accuracy of Blacks' and Whites' in-group and out-group stereotypes was examined by comparing judgments of the stereotypicality and dispersion of Black and White first-year college students with the stereotypicality and dispersion of self-ratings provided by random samples of group members. Accuracy was assessed using perceived-actual discrepancies and within-subject sensitivity correlations. Consistent with social identity theory, discrepancies revealed greater overestimation of stereotypicality and underestimation of dispersion in Blacks' judgments. But consistent with the notion that out-group information is more useful to Blacks than to Whites, sensitivity correlations revealed that Blacks' judgments of the out-group were as accurate as their judgments of their in-group, whereas Whites were more sensitive in judgments of their own group than the out-group. Participants were also more sensitive in their judgments of the White target group. Familiarity was generally unrelated to accuracy, but some evidence suggested that ethnocentrism may influence accuracy.

Children's perceptions of group variability as a function of status

Two studies focused on perceived ingroup and outgroup variability in children as a function of status. In the first study, 7- and 9-year-old White and Black children distributed White and Black faces along the levels of several dimensions. White children perceived more ingroup than outgroup variability, whereas Black children perceived more outgroup than ingroup variability. In addition, White children favored their ingroup, whereas Black children did not. In a second study, 7- and 9-year-old boys and girls distributed ingroup and outgroup faces along the levels of several dimensions. As expected, boys displayed outgroup homogeneity and girls did not. The consequences of these findings are discussed.

The Effect of Occupational Status Cues on Memory for Male and Female Targets

In an experiment examining the influence of status cues on memory, participants read trait descriptions and formed impressions of either four male or four female targets: two labeled as professors and two labeled as graduate students. They then attempted to recall which traits had described each target. Because pretests confirmed that professors were perceived as having higher status than graduate students, we predicted better recall for male professors than male graduate students. Pretesting also indicated that men were viewed as having higher status than women; consequently, we expected occupation cues to have less impact on the female target condition due to the lower status and possible lesser individuation of the female targets overall. As predicted, there were significantly fewer memory errors for male professors than for male graduate students; however, occupational status did not significantly affect memory for female targets.

Social Asymmetries and Anonymity in Dyadic Computer-Mediated Communication

Abstract. This research concerns the influence of dominant/dominated asymmetries in the perceptual structure of social categories in computer-mediated communication (CMC). We explore the connection between the cognitive effects described by the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) and the impact on perceptions of the asymmetrical status that characterizes gender groups. The study analyzes the gender perception of two interlocutors in a communication context of anonymity or visibility. The experiment was based on a standardized protocol designed to control the various declarative contents expressed during the communication. Eighty-eight participants were placed in a CMC situation with a confederate of the opposite sex. We manipulated visibility and anonymity through interlocutors’ names (provided vs. withheld) and the presence or absence of a webcam in the communication situation. In accordance with our predictions, the results suggest that gender asymmetry can modulate the cognitive effects of anonymity. The results and prospects of this research are discussed in light of work on the dominant/dominated groups and the SIDE model.

Modeling the roles of category and feature information in inference

The goal of the current research is to use the experimental methods and mathematical models of the information integration framework to precisely determine how category and feature information are combined when making an inference. In three experiments, participants were trained on a probabilistic relationship between a category label and the presence of a property and, separately, the relationship between a visual feature and the presence of the property. Participants were then shown the category label alone, the feature alone, or both in combination, and asked to infer the presence or absence of the property. Two information integration models, the fuzzy logical model of perception and the linear integration model, were fit to the data. The modeling results show that participants were non-Bayesian in their combination of the two sources of information, showed diversity in the relative weight placed on category information, and consistently used each source of information to the extent to which it was known.

Exclusion As Self-Protection

Three studies examined the consequences of subtyping ingroup members for evaluations of the self. The first study examined the impact of subtyping high-performing or low-performing ingroup members on self-evaluations. Study 2 employed an alternative manipulation of subtyping. Given the observed benefits of subtyping low-performing ingroup members for the group and the benefits of subtyping high-performing ingroup members for the self, Study 3 investigated participants’ subtyping target selection (i.e., high-performing vs. low-performing ingroup members) when the focus of the sorting task was on self-evaluations or group evaluations. In sum, these studies suggest that subtyping ingroup members can serve a self-protective function.

Status and Cooperation Shape Lesbian Stereotypes

Research on perceptions of homosexuals implicitly assumes that individuals think about lesbians as an undifferentiated group. By contrast, this paper investigated the stereotypes of the overall category as well as of different subgroups of lesbians within the frame of the stereotype content model (SCM). Participants (N = 70) rated the overall category and four subgroups on perceived warmth, competence, status, and interdependence (cooperative vs. competitive). Results showed that the overall category landed in the middle of the competence-warmth space, while the subgroups spread across the SCM dimensions. Moreover, perceived status and cooperation predicted competence and warmth stereotypes, respectively. Perceived competition failed to predict warmth stereotypes. The importance of these findings for lesbian stereotyping and for the SCM is discussed.

Construal-level theory of psychological distance

People are capable of thinking about the future, the past, remote locations, another person's perspective, and counterfactual alternatives. Without denying the uniqueness of each process, it is proposed that they constitute different forms of traversing psychological distance. Psychological distance is egocentric: Its reference point is the self in the here and now, and the different ways in which an object might be removed from that point-in time, in space, in social distance, and in hypotheticality-constitute different distance dimensions. Transcending the self in the here and now entails mental construal, and the farther removed an object is from direct experience, the higher (more abstract) the level of construal of that object. Supporting this analysis, research shows (a) that the various distances are cognitively related to each other, (b) that they similarly influence and are influenced by level of mental construal, and (c) that they similarly affect prediction, preference, and action.

Majority, Minority, and Parity: Effects of Gender and Group Size on Perceived Group Variability

We investigated the effects of gender and group size on perceptions of group variability, using groups of students taking different majors that varied in the proportion of men and women (female-majority, parity, and male-majority). We found that both group size and gender had consistent effects on perceived out-group variability, even when potentially confounded alternative explanations were assessed. Men showed a stronger out-group homogeneity effect than women, except when women were in the majority (Studies One and Two), and women showed no in-group homogeneity effect. There was an association between out-group homogeneity and the tendency to generate more subgroups for the in-group than out-group (Study Two), but perceived variability was not associated with familiarity, distinctiveness, perceived group size, or perceived group status. These consistent effects qualify the conclusions of prior research in important ways, and cannot be explained in terms of differences in stereotype accuracy (Study Three), or a confound between the gender majority of a major and its perceived status (Study Four). We discuss our findings in terms of theoretical explanations for gender and size effects on out-group homogeneity, and methodological considerations.

The effect of attitude toward women on the relative individuation of women and men is mediated by perceived gender subgroups

The present study investigated whether a differential number of perceived subgroups for men and women mediated the previous finding that men and women with more traditional attitudes concerning women's roles individuate men more than women, whereas individuals with less traditional attitudes better individuate women (Stewart, Vassar, Sanchez, & David, 2000). Participants were asked to recall traits of 2 male and 2 female targets described to them. Comparison of memory errors for male vs female targets indicated relative individuation of men and women. Participants also generated subgroups of men and women and indicated their familiarity with these groups. As predicted, relative number of subgroups but not differential familiarity mediated the relationship between attitudes and relative individuation of men and women. More complex representations of women are proposed to facilitate organization of information about new members of this group.

Eine sozialpsychologische Analyse zur Reduzierung sozialer Diskriminierung von Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund

Zusammenfassung: Migration hat die deutsche Gesellschaft verändert. In jüngster Zeit wird dies auch auf politischer Ebene verstärkt diskutiert. Wenngleich die Integration von Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund angestrebt wird, so sind sie dennoch häufig sozialer Diskriminierung ausgesetzt, die einer erfolgreichen Integration entgegensteht. Ausgehend vom sozial-kognitiven Ansatz und dem Ansatz der sozialen Identität gibt der vorliegende Beitrag einen Überblick zum Stand der Forschung bezüglich der Faktoren, die zu sozialer Diskriminierung beitragen bzw. ihr entgegenwirken. Dieser Überblick dient in Folge als Grundlage für die Ableitung von Empfehlungen bezüglich der Gestaltung politischer und gesellschaftlicher Prozesse mit dem Ziel, durch die Reduzierung sozialer Diskriminierung einen Beitrag zur erfolgreichen gesellschaftlichen Integration von Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund zu leisten. Die resultierenden Empfehlungen werden abschließend integriert und diskutiert. Die Praxisrelevanz, aber auch die diesbezüglichen Grenzen sozialpsychologischer Forschung werden ebenfalls dargestellt.