WHEN STEREOTYPE ACTIVATION RESULTS IN (COUNTER)STEREOTYPICAL JUDGMENTS - PRIMING STEREOTYPE-RELEVANT TRAITS AND EXEMPLARS

Accessible stereotyped information that is relevant to interpretation of a target stimulus (interpretation applicability) and matches the ta rget's social category (social category applicability) is likely to be used as an interpretation frame and yield assimilation. However, when such information also possesses features making it likely that it is used as a comparison standard, contrast will ensue. Two experiments te st these hypotheses and further specifications by manipulating the typ e of stereotype-relevant knowledge that is activated (trait, same-cate gory exemplars, different-category exemplars) and the target's social category (matching the activated stereotype or not). Findings support the proposed model of stereotyping effects and thus demonstrate that a ccessible stereotype-relevant knowledge can yield stereotypical (assim ilative) but also counterstereotypical (contrastive) judgments. Implic ations of the results for the relation between stereotypes, stereotypi ng, and knowledge accessibility effects are discussed. (C) 1998 Academ ic Press.