Memory for stereotype‐related material–a replication study with real‐life social groups

Abstract

This paper reports u study comparing the memorability of information that either confirmed, dirconfirmd, or was irrelevant to, particular reul-life social group stereotypes. Memory for both stereotype-con$rming and stereotype-dkonfirming material was enhanced reiative to that for material which was stereotype-irrelevant. Further, there were no dflerences between the memory for stereotype-confirming and -a%confirming information. Implications for stereotype stability and change are noted Researchers have long been interested in the effects of stereotypes upon memory and the implications that this m a y have for processes of stereotype change; if information that confirms stereotypes is better remembered than other information, a 'built-in' bias may operate to sustain stereotypes. For example, Rothbart, Evans and Fulero (1979) led subjects to expect members of a hypothetical group to be either friendly or intellectual. In a memory task completed after members of the group were described, subjects recalled more behaviours congruent with their expectancy.However, whilst much research has investigated memory for materials which vary in their relationship to subjects' expectations, it should be noted that many studies do not use information related to group stereotypes but to individuals (Hastie and Kumar, 1979). This is important as it has been shown that memory performance is Werent according to whether the stimuli are individuals or group members (Srull, *Reprint requestsThe authors wish to thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier draft ofthispaper. SocialPsychology, to: 445-469. Wyer, R. S. and Martin, L. L. (1986) 'Person memory: the role of traits, group stereotypes and specific behaviours in the cognitive representation of persons.' Journal of Personality d S o c i a l Psychology, 50 (4): 661-675.

Innovation, controversy, and consensus in traumatology.

“…Language use reflects these beliefs: language for stereotypical generalizations is more abstract, while language describing exceptions more concrete (Maass, Solvi, Arcuri & Semin, 1989). Further, information about a stereotyped group is better remembered if it is consistent with stereotyped beliefs than if it is inconsistent (Cano, 1991). Taken together, these processes reinforce either positive or negative a priori impressions.…”

Stereotypes and the Familiar-Stranger: The Role of Previous Contact and Gender Stereotypes on Eyewitness Recall and Recognition Accuracy

“…Therefore, occupations tend to be highly gender role stereotyped. Stereotypes are known to affect memory through all processes (i.e., encoding, maintenance, retrieval), and whether an individual is perceived to be stereotype consistent or inconsistent effects how memories of them are stored and retrieved (Cano, Hopkins, & Islam, 1991;Koomen & Dijker, 1997). Thus, gender role stereotypes would likely influence eyewitness memory of a familiar-stranger.…”

“…Research on whether stereotype consistent or stereotype inconsistent information has an advantage in memory has been mixed. Much research has found there to be a memory advantage for stereotype consistent information (Cano et al, 1991;Fyock & Stangor, 1994;Koomen & Dijker, 1997;Stangor & Ruble, 1989) while several other studies have found there to be a memory advantage for stereotype inconsistent information (Bargh & Thein, 1985;Driscoll, Hamilton, & Sorrentino, 1991;Hastie & Kumar, 1979;Sherman, Stroessner, Conrey, & Azam, 2005;Srull, 1981;Srull, Lichtenstein, & Rothbart, 1985). More recently, however, it has been discovered that these inconsistencies were due to methodological differences between studies.…”