自我效能感和认知风格对刻板印象激活效应的影响

通过两个实验考察了自我效能感与认知风格在刻板印象激活效应(个体刻板印象的激活会影响个体随后的行为表现,使之符合所激活的刻板印象)中的作用,初步探讨了刻板印象的激活引发行为改变的内在心理机制。实验1采取单因素被试间实验设计,将被试随机分配到实验组和控制组,接着完成智力测试与自我效能感评价任务。结果发现自我效能感在刻板印象激活效应对于智力测试成绩的影响中起着中介作用。在此基础上,实验2进一步纳入认知风格,首先对被试的握力进行前测,1周后再将被试随机分配到高耐力组和低耐力组进行再测。结果表明:自我效能感在刻板印象激活引发的行为表现中依然起着中介作用。与此同时,虽然场依存的被试更易受刻板印象激活效应的影响,而场独立的被试则不易受到这种情境的影响,但是认知风格未起到中介作用。

The role of self-efficacy and cognitive style in the stereotype activation effect

Previous research has shown that activating a stereotype can influence subsequent behavior in a stereotype-consistent way. However, the mechanism of stereotype activation to behavior is not clear. Some researches agreed with ideomotor theory. They provided that priming effects result from a direct link between perception and behavior. Some other researches argued that the process between prime to behavior is more complex. Recently, a rapidly burgeoning body of research has developed that suggests the self can play an important role in affecting both the magnitude and direction of prime-to-behavior effects. In this paper, we propose that the activation of a stereotype may elicit higher performance via higher self-efficacy beliefs.In Experiment 1, At first, we let the participants (not enter the formal experiments) wrote down what kind of profession need the high IQ ,and what kind of profession doesn’t need the high IQ, 50 participants were randomly selected and assigned to the two experiment conditions. Participants in the experimental group were asked to describe typical behaviors and characteristics of professors. Participants in the control group were asked to describe typical behaviors and characteristics of cleaners. After the priming manipulation, participants were asked to answer the general knowledge test. Additionally, for each item, they had to indicate how confident they felt with their answer on a scale ranging from 1 (No unconfident) to 5 (very confident). We conducted a 2 (stereotype activation: athlete vs. loafer) X 2 (cognitive style: independence vs. dependence) between-subject design in experiment2. Cognitive style as a new variable came into our experiment. The depend variable was the Grip strength test scores and participants specific self-efficacy that was related to athletic persistence and self-control. The results of Experiment 1 showed that participants who had been primed with professors (experiment group) scored higher on the knowledge test than participants primed with cleaners (control experiment). After the mediation analysis, we got that self-efficacy reliably mediated the relationship between stereotype activation and performance in a general knowledge test. In the experiment 2, the main effect of stereotype activation was significant and the interaction effect between prime and cognitive style was obvious. Through the simple effect analysis, we got that the subjects who were field dependence are more likely to suffer the effect of stereotype activation, and the field independence subjects are less susceptible to this kind of situation. In the same way, the self-efficacy of one’s persistence also mediated the relationship between stereotype activation and performance in Grip strength test. Through the two experiments, we discussed the internal mechanism between the stereotype activation and the changed behavior. When activated the positive stereotype traits to participants, the positive stereotype traits would be include into individual’s self-concept, altered self-representations, and eventually changed the behavior.