STEREOTYPES AND SOCIAL JUDGMENT - THE CONSEQUENCES OF GROUP VARIABILITY

The present investigation examined the effects of group variability on judgments of single group members. Male and female participants forme d impressions of a group of 50 men or women on the basis of their perf ormance on a test of perceptual-motor skills. The variability of group performance varied across conditions. Participants then made speeded typicality judgments and ability ratings of several ''new'' group memb ers whose performance varied in its discrepancy from the group. Compar ed with participants in the high variability condition, participants i n the low variability condition were (a) more likely to judge discrepa nt group members as atypical and (b) faster to assess their atypicalit y. This latter effect decreased the probability that participants in t he low variability condition used the group as a basis for judging aty pical group members.