The use of Afrocentric features as cues for judgment in the presence of diagnostic information

Prior research has shown that within racial category, group members with more Afrocentric facial features are presumed to have more stereotypic traits than those with less Afrocentric features. The present experiment investigated whether this form of feature‐based stereotyping occurs when more diagnostic information is available. The participants were provided with photographs and information about the aggressive (or non‐aggressive) behaviour of 64 African Americans in four different situations, and asked to predict the likelihood of aggression in a fifth situation. As expected, each instance of aggression increased estimates that a target would behave aggressively in the unknown situation. With degree of displayed aggression controlled, however, targets with more Afrocentric features were judged as significantly more likely to behave aggressively than targets with less Afrocentric features. Thus, stereotyping based on Afrocentric features occurs even when other obviously‐relevant information is available. This suggests that it may be difficult to detect and avoid. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of Afrocentric facial features in criminal sentencing

Prior research has shown that within a racial category, people with more Afrocentric facial features are presumed more likely to have traits that are stereotypic of Black Americans compared with people with less Afrocentric features. The present study investigated whether this form of feature-based stereotyping might be observed in criminal-sentencing decisions. Analysis of a random sample of inmate records showed that Black and White inmates, given equivalent criminal histories, received roughly equivalent sentences. However, within each race, inmates with more Afrocentric features received harsher sentences than those with less Afrocentric features. These results are consistent with laboratory findings, and they suggest that although racial stereotyping as a function of racial category has been successfully removed from sentencing decisions, racial stereotyping based on the facial features of the offender is a form of bias that is largely overlooked.     

Causal status as a determinant of feature centrality

One of the major problems in categorization research is the lack of systematic ways of constraining feature weights. We propose one method of operationalizing feature centrality, a causal status hypothesis which states that a cause feature is judged to be more central than its effect feature in categorization. In Experiment 1, participants learned a novel category with three characteristic features that were causally related into a single causal chain and judged the likelihood that new objects belong to the category. Likelihood ratings for items missing the most fundamental cause were lower than those for items missing the intermediate cause, which in turn were lower than those for items missing the terminal effect. The causal status effect was also obtained in goodness-of-exemplar judgments (Experiment 2) and in free-sorting tasks (Experiment 3), but it was weaker in similarity judgments than in categorization judgments (Experiment 4). Experiment 5 shows that the size of the causal status effect is moderated by plausibility of causal relations, and Experiment 6 shows that effect features can be useful in retrieving information about unknown causes. We discuss the scope of the causal status effect and its implications for categorization research.     

Semantic component of a cross-modal Stroop-like task

Three experiments showed that the pattern of interference of single-modality Stroop tests also exists cross-modally. Distractors and targets were either pictures or auditory words. In a naming task (Experiment 1), word distractors from the same semantic category as picture targets interfered with picture naming more than did semantically unrelated distractors; the semantic category of picture distractors did not differentially affect word naming. In a categorization task (Experiment 2), this Stroop-like effect was reversed: Picture distractors from the same semantic category as word targets interfered less with word categorization than picture distractors that were semantically unrelated; the semantic category of word distractors did not differentially affect picture categorization. Experiment 3 replicated these effects when each subject performed both tasks; the task, naming or categorizing, determined the pattern of interference between pictures and auditory words. The results thus support the existence of a semantic component of a cross-modal Stroop-like effect.     

Inter‐category versus intra‐category fit: when social categories match social context

The goal of the research reported in this article was to examine whether social categorization, commonly thought to be a function of accessibility and intra‐category fit, is also sensitive to changes in inter‐category fit. Intra‐category fit refers to the match between a target person's features and stored categorical knowledge, inter‐category fit to the extent to which category memberships and targets' features covary across perceived group members. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, members of social categories of low, medium, and high accessibility, respectively, were shown in a group discussion. Inter‐category fit was manipulated in three steps. Category salience in memory increased as an additive function of accessibility and inter‐category fit. Experiment 4 replicated the effects of inter‐category fit while intra‐category fit and the information presented for individual discussants were held constant. The present studies are the first to demonstrate an effect of inter‐category fit on a relatively direct measure of spontaneous social categorization. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development of features in object concepts

According to one productive and influential approach to cognition, categorization, object recognition, and higher level cognitive processes operate on a set of fixed features, which are the output of lower level perceptual processes. In many situations, however, it is the higher level cognitive process being executed that influences the lower level features that are created. Rather than viewing the repertoire of features as being fixed by low-level processes, we present a theory in which people create features to subserve the representation and categorization of objects. Two types of category learning should be distinguished. Fixed space category learning occurs when new categorizations are representable with the available feature set. Flexible space category learning occurs when new categorizations cannot be represented with the features available. Whether fixed or flexible, learning depends on the featural contrasts and similarities between the new category to be represented and the individuals existing concepts. Fixed feature approaches face one of two problems with tasks that call for new features: If the fixed features are fairly high level and directly useful for categorization, then they will not be flexible enough to represent all objects that might be relevant for a new task. If the fixed features are small, subsymbolic fragments (such as pixels), then regularities at the level of the functional features required to accomplish categorizations will not be captured by these primitives. We present evidence of flexible perceptual changes arising from category learning and theoretical arguments for the importance of this flexibility. We describe conditions that promote feature creation and argue against interpreting them in terms of fixed features. Finally, we discuss the implications of functional features for object categorization, conceptual development, chunking, constructive induction, and formal models of dimensionality reduction.     

Looking like a criminal: Stereotypical black facial features promote face source memory error

The present studies tested whether African American face type (stereotypical or nonstereotypical) facilitated stereotype-consistent categorization, and whether that categorization influenced memory accuracy and errors. Previous studies have shown that stereotypically Black features are associated with crime and violence (e.g., Blair, Judd, & Chapleau Psychological Science 15:674?C679, 2004; Blair, Judd, & Fallman Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 87:763?C778, 2004; Blair, Judd, Sadler, & Jenkins Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83:5?C252002); here, we extended this finding to investigate whether there is a bias toward remembering and recategorizing stereotypical faces as criminals. Using category labels, consistent (or inconsistent) with race-based expectations, we tested whether face recognition and recategorization were driven by the similarity between a target??s facial features and a stereotyped category (i.e., stereotypical Black faces associated with crime/violence). The results revealed that stereotypical faces were associated more often with a stereotype-consistent label (Study 1), were remembered and correctly recategorized as criminals (Studies 2?C4), and were miscategorized as criminals when memory failed. These effects occurred regardless of race or gender. Together, these findings suggest that face types have strong category associations that can promote stereotype-motivated recognition errors. Implications for eyewitness accuracy are discussed.     

Culture,category salience,and inductive reasoning

The role of category salience in category-based induction was demonstrated in two ways: (i) temporarily increasing category salience facilitated category-based induction, and (ii) this effect was moderated by cultural differences that we predicted would be related to chronic category salience. Subjects for whom categories were presumed to be more accessible (Americans) were not as much influenced by manipulations to increase category salience as subjects who were presumed to have lower chronic accessibility of categories (Koreans). However, as anticipated, this pattern was reversed for inferences about behavioral properties of social categories. Due to the `interdependent' nature of their culture, Koreans presumably have relatively higher chronic accessibility for social categories than do relatively `independent' Americans, and hence were not influenced as much by increasing category salience.     

Stereotype distinctiveness: how counterstereotypic behavior shapes the self-concept

Three experiments examined the relationship between distinctiveness and self-schematicity. Experiment 1 revealed that people were more likely to be self-schematic in domains of strong performance when they felt distinct from family and peers in those domains. Experiments 2 and 3 extended this finding into the arena of stereotypes by demonstrating that people were more likely to be self-schematic in domains of strong performance when their performance was counterstereotypic rather than stereotypic. In particular, African Americans and women were more likely to be schematic for intelligence than Caucasians and men if they performed well academically, whereas Caucasians-especially men-were more likely than African Americans to be schematic for athletics if they performed well athletically. These results suggest that counterstereotypic behavior plays a uniquely powerful role in the development of the self-concept.     

American = White?

Six studies investigated the extent to which American ethnic groups (African, Asian, and White) are associated with the category "American." Although strong explicit commitments to egalitarian principles were expressed in Study 1, Studies 2-6 consistently revealed that both African and Asian Americans as groups are less associated with the national category "American" than are White Americans. Under some circumstances, a dissociation between mean levels of explicit beliefs and implicit responses emerged such that an ethnic minority was explicitly regarded to be more American than were White Americans, but implicit measures showed the reverse pattern (Studies 3 and 4). In addition, Asian American participants themselves showed the American = White effect, although African Americans did not (Study 5). The American = White association was positively correlated with the strength of national identity in White Americans. Together, these studies provide evidence that to be American is implicitly synonymous with being White.     

What some effects might not be: The time to verify membership in 'well-defined' categories

Armstrong, Gleitman, and Gleitman (1983) reported shorter categorization times for members of well-defined categories judged more typical. They concluded that these effects could not originate in a graded, similarity-based category representation and consequently that the typicality effects obtained with natural categories might not be indicative of such a structure either. In this article, we re-examine this conclusion, focusing first on the performance obtained with well-defined categories of different sizes. Only the larger categories used showed variations in typicality ratings and produced typicality effects on categorization times. However,multiple regression analyses showed the effects on categorization times to be better explained by a measure of associative strength, called category dominance. The range of various predictor variables was equated in a follow-up experiment involving large, natural, and well-defined categories. Results obtained with well-defined categories showed pronounced dominance effects when typicality was controlled, but no reliable typicality effect when category dominance and instance familiarity were controlled. Results were opposite for natural categories. By showing that well-defined categories fail to produce unbiased typicality effects, our results bring added support to the hypothesis that the effects obtained with natural categories originate in a graded, similarity-based category structure.     

Priming Prejudice How Stereotypes and Counter-Stereotypes Influence Attribution of Responsibility and Credibility among Ingroups and Outgroups

The research examines the effect of priming negative stereotypic and positive counter-stereotypic portrayals of African Americans (Study 1) and women (Study 2) on interpretations of actual media events. A counter-stereotypic portrayal of an African American male led participants to subsequently make more external or situational attributions of responsibility to other African American males involved in unrelated media events (i.e., Rodney King and Magic Johnson), whereas stereotypic portrayals led to more internal or personal attributions. Similarly, a counter-stereotypic portrayal of a female tended to increase the perceived credibility of females involved in unrelated media events (i.e., the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings and the William Kennedy Smith/Patricia Bowman rape trial) whereas stereotypic portrayals decreased their perceived credibility. Study 2 also revealed an ingroup-outgroup bias in the interpretation of media events, with females tending to be more sympathetic toward other females. Implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions made for future research.     

Memory storage and retrieval processes in category learning

The detailed course of learning is studied for categorization tasks defined by independent or contingent probability distributions over the features of category exemplars. College-age subjects viewed sequences of bar charts that simulated symptom patterns and responded to each chart with a recognition and a categorization judgment. Fuzzy, probabilistically defined categories were learned relatively rapidly when individual features were correlated with category assignment, more slowly when only patterns carried category information. Limits of performance were suboptimal, evidently because of capacity limitations on judgmental processes as well as limitations on memory. Categorization proved systematically related to feature and exemplar probabilities, under different circumstances, and to similarity among exemplars of categories. Unique retrieval cues for exemplar patterns facilitated recognition but entered into categorization only at retention intervals within the range of short-term memory. The findings are interpreted within the framework of a general array model that yields both exemplar-similarity and feature-frequency models as special cases and provides quantitative accounts of the course of learning in each of the categorization tasks studied.     

Relevance of social categories,depersonalization and group processes: two field tests of self‐categorization theory

Two field studies investigated whether, as predicted by self‐categorization theory (Turner, 1987 ), the relationship between comparative fit of an ingroup‐outgroup categorization and group phenomena is mediated by depersonalization of self‐perception, and moderated by category accessibility. In the first study participants were football fans, and in the second they were employees in an organization. In each study, two experimental conditions were created, whereby the accessibility and salience of the ingroup‐outgroup categorization were varied. New measures of comparative fit and depersonalization were developed, based on meta‐contrast ratios. Outcome variables were ingroup bias (Studies 1 and 2), ingroup entitativity, organizational citizenship behaviours, job satisfaction and turnover intentions (Study 2). Consistent with self‐categorization theory, results showed (a) that comparative fit determined ingroup bias and other criterion variables through the mediating process of depersonalization, and (b) that this process was active only when the category was highly accessible. The moderational role of accessibility concerned the relationship between depersonalization and outcome variables, not the link between fit and depersonalization. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ambiguity in social categorization: The role of prejudice and facial affect in race categorization

Abstract— Two studies tested the hypothesis that perceivers' prejudice and targets' facial expressions bias race categorization in stereotypic directions. Specifically, we hypothesized that racial prejudice would be more strongly associated with a tendency to categorize hostile (but not happy) racially ambiguous faces as African American. We obtained support for this hypothesis using both a speeded dichotomous categorization task (Studies 1 and 2) and a rating-scale task (Study 2). Implicit prejudice (but not explicit prejudice) was related to increased sensitivity to the targets' facial expressions, regardless of whether prejudice was measured after (Study 1) or before (Study 2) the race categorizations were made.     

Stereotypes and the confirmability of trait concepts

Two studies tested the hypothesis that rules of trait inference may differ depending on trait stereotypicality and the social group membership of the target being judged. Specifically, traits that are stereotypic of a group were expected to instantiate lower evidentiary standards (require fewer behaviors to confirm), but only in members of that group. Study 1 focused on race and found that across 180 traits, trait stereotypicality was associated with fewer behaviors required to confirm and more to disconfirm in outgroup targets (in Black actors for White judges and in White actors for Black judges). Study 2 focused on gender and again found that stereotypic traits were tied to low evidentiary standards only when judging outgroup targets. The findings are discussed with reference to the literatures on trait inference, stereotyping, and shifting judgment standards.     

The effect of interethnic ideologies on the likability of stereotypic vs. counterstereotypic minority targets

This paper examines the effect of interethnic ideologies on the likability of stereotypic vs. counterstereotypic minority targets. In two experiments, participants were exposed to either a multicultural or colorblind prime and subsequently asked to indicate their impressions of a stereotypic or counterstereotypic minority target. Results suggest that multiculturalism and colorblindness have different effects on the likability of minority targets to the extent that such targets confirm the existence of fixed or permeable ethnic group boundaries. Specifically, a stereotypic target was liked more than a counterstereotypic target when participants were exposed to multiculturalism - suggesting that multiculturalism creates a preference for individuals who remain within the boundaries of their ethnicity. Conversely, a counterstereotypic target was liked more than a stereotypic target when participants were exposed to colorblindness - suggesting that colorblindness creates a preference for individuals who permeate the boundaries of their ethnicity. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The automaticity of race and Afrocentric facial features in social judgments

Four experiments were conducted to examine the automaticity of stereotyping based on racial category and (within-race) Afrocentric facial features. Results showed that both forms of stereotyping are efficient processes, able to operate when cognitive resources are highly restricted. The 2 differed, however, in their controllability. Participants demonstrated that they were sensitized to race-based stereotypes and able to control that influence to a significant degree. In contrast, participants appeared to be largely unaware of using Afrocentric features to make stereotypic inferences, and they proved unable to avoid doing so, even when they were given explicit information about the process and they demonstrated that they could easily and reliably identify the relevant features.