Conservatives negatively evaluate counterstereotypical people to maintain a sense of certainty

Abstract

People frequently use physical appearance stereotypes to categorize individuals when their group membership is not directly observable. Recent research indicates that political conservatives tend to use such stereotypes more than liberals do because they express a greater desire for certainty and order. In the present research, we found that conservatives were also more likely to negatively evaluate and distribute fewer economic resources to people who deviate from the stereotypes of their group. This occurred for people belonging to both preexisting and novel groups, regardless of whether the stereotypes were real or experimentally fabricated. Critically, conservatives only negatively evaluated counterstereotypical people when the stereotypes were functional-that is, when they expected that they would need to use the stereotypes at a later point to categorize individuals into groups. Moreover, increasing liberals' desire for certainty led them to negatively evaluate counterstereotypical people just like conservatives did. Thus, conservatives are not only more likely to use stereotypes than are liberals, but are especially likely to negatively evaluate counterstereotypical people to organize the social world with greater certainty.ideology | stereotyping | social evaluation

The marketplace of ideology: “Elective affinities” in political psychology and their implications for consumer behavior

“…There is, moreover, mounting evidence that conservatives are quicker to apply group stereotypes and more likely to devalue individuals who deviate from the stereotype, in comparison with liberals (e.g., Stern, West, & Rule, 2015; see also Luguri, Napier, & Dovidio, 2012; Olivola, Sussman, Tsetsos, Kang, & Todorov, 2012). For example, conservatives are more likely than liberals to assume that men with stereotypically feminine facial features—such as long eyelashes, high cheekbones, and slender faces—are gay (Stern, West, Jost, & Rule, 2013).…”

“…Stern et al (2015) investigated the hypothesis that conservatives would not only rely more heavily on stereotypes but would also be more likely than liberals to evaluate negatively those individuals who deviate from the stereotype. Thus, in one study they observed that conservatives evaluated masculine‐looking gay men less favorably than feminine‐looking gay men, whereas liberals displayed no differences in evaluation.…”

“…This finding suggests that racial categorization is affected by the system-justifying motivation to uphold traditional racial divisions that are part of the historical legacy of the United States-a motivation that is stronger among conservatives than liberals. Stern et al (2015) investigated the hypothesis that conservatives would not only rely more heavily on stereotypes but would also be more likely than liberals to evaluate negatively those individuals who deviate from the stereotype. Thus, in one study they observed that conservatives evaluated masculinelooking gay men less favorably than feminine-looking gay men, whereas liberals displayed no differences in evaluation.…”

Sociocultural and individual manifestations of sexual stigma: The role of political ideology and prejudice in discrimination against sexual minorities

“…For example, the research showing that employment discrimination against gay men is strongest amongst employers searching for applicants with stereotypically masculine traits (Tilcsik, 2011), suggests that discrimination will vary across occupations that are highly gender segregated. Moreover, the research showing that conservatives evaluate counterstereotypical gay men more negatively than stereotypical gay men (Stern, West, & Rule, 2015) suggests that the discrimination observed in this counterstereotypical context (football internship) might not generalize to gay men applying to intern in more stereotype consistent, or stereotype neutral, positions. Future work might also explore more and varied signals to sexual stigma.…”

Political ideology drives consumer psychology: Introduction to research dialogue

“…One implication of this literature is that conservatives are more likely than liberals to embrace brands, because brands (at least, well managed ones) provide the certainty and predictability that conservatives prefer. Conservatives may even be more forgiving of brands under some conditions: Research on judgments of counterstereotypical targets (Stern, West, & Rule, 2015) implies that a brand with a flaw (versus without) may be preferred, as long as the flaw is congruent with stereotypes of the brand's country of origin or user community.…”