Examining the Structural Validity of English Stereotype Content Measures

Abstract

The stereotype content model (SCM) plays a prominent role in social perception research when comparing the evaluation of different groups on warmth and competence dimensions. We examined the structural validity of SCM measures from publications based on data from English speaking participants. Re-analyzing 78 datasets from 43 published studies using confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance assessment, we found that 34.81% of the 586 re-analyzed SCM measurement models showed adequate scale dimensionality, implying a meaningful and valid warmth and competence assessment in one third of all cases. Regarding the scales’ comparability as defined by measurement invariance, we found (partial) scalar invariance as precondition for meaningful mean-value comparisons in 11.43% of all cases. These findings indicate considerable validity concerns in published SCM research. We propose future directions to improve the measurement quality and validity in future SCM research and invite fellow researchers to constructively discuss these ideas.