NONCONSCIOUS BEHAVIORAL CONFIRMATION PROCESSES - THE SELF-FULFILLING CONSEQUENCES OF AUTOMATIC STEREOTYPE ACTIVATION

It is now well-established that stereotypes can become activated unint entionally and outside of awareness by the presence of the relevant gr oup features. There is also a long tradition of theory and evidence th at perceptual and behavioral processes are intimately related (e.g., B erkowitz, 1984; James, 1890; Piaget, 1948). Considering these two phen omena together suggests that stereotype activation can cause the perce iver to act in stereotype-consistent ways, and recent evidence confirm s this prediction (Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996). The present study ex tended these findings by showing that the perceiver's stereotype-consi stent behavior causes the target person to reciprocate in bind, thereb y confirming the perceiver's stereotypic beliefs. Compared to a contro l condition, subliminal activation of the African American stereotype in participants resulted in greater hostility in their interaction par tners (as rated by outside judges) and more extreme hostility ratings of the targets by their perceiver partner. (C) 1997 Academic Press.