ELIMINATING NATIONAL STEREOTYPES - DIRECT VERSUS INDIRECT DISCONFIRMATION OF BELIEFS IN COVARIATION

Two modes of disconfirmation of national stereotypes were compared. It was hypothesized that stereotypes should be revised either by stereot ype-inconsistent cases from the primary target (i.e., direct disconfir mation) or by instances which belong to an alternative target but poss ess features stereotypic of the primary target (indirect disconfirmati on), it was further predicted that politically liberal individuals wou ld show greater change in their national stereotypes than conservative s. Two experiments were conducted in which the salience of directly an d indirectly disconfirming information regarding different nations was manipulated. The results indicated that indirect disconfirmation gene rally had as much impact as direct disconfirmation, but that the effec ts were particularly visible among liberal participants. Conservatives tended to respond in a reactive manner which preserved or exaggerated their original views. A new theoretical framework for the study of st ereotype change and implications for its application were discussed.