SHIFTING STANDARDS AND STEREOTYPE-BASED JUDGMENTS

Four studies tested a model of stereotype-based shifts in judgment sta ndards developed by M. Biernat, M. Manis, and T.E. Nelson (1991). The model suggests that subjective judgments of target persons from differ ent social groups may fail to reveal the stereotyped expectations of j udges, because they invite the use of different evaluative standards; more ''objective'' or common rule indicators reduce such standard shif ts. The stereotypes that men are more competent than women, women are more verbally able than men, Whites are more verbally able than Blacks , and Blacks are more athletic than Whites were successfully used to d emonstrate the shifting standards phenomenon. Several individual-diffe rence measures were also effective in predicting differential suscepti bility to standard shifts, and direct evidence was provided that diffe ring comparison standards account for substantial differences in targe t ratings.