COGNITIVE MODELS OF STEREOTYPE CHANGE .5. MEASUREMENT, DEVELOPMENT, AND CONSEQUENCES OF SUBTYPING

Three experiments investigated the measurement, development, and consequences of subtyping in stereotype change. All three studies presented subjects with a pattern of stereotype-disconfirming information that was either concentrated within a few or dispersed across several group members. Experiment 1 crossed this pattern factor with order of rating and memory tasks and identified a new memory-based measure of subtyping (clustering of items in free recall by sub-category). Ratings on stereotype-inconsistent traits were lower and clustering scores higher in the concentrated condition, irrespective of order of tasks. Experiment 2 crossed pattern with whether stimulus information was blocked-by-person or unblocked. Ratings on stereotype-inconsistent traits were higher when information was both dispersed and blocked; subtyping was strong only when information was both concentrated and blocked. Experiment 3 crossed pattern with number of subtypes (one vs two), and found lower ratings on stereotype-inconsistent traits and higher subtyping in both the concentrated vs dispersed, and the two-vs one-subtype conditions. Results are discussed in terms of the nature of subtyping and some limitations of the paradigm used. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.