Are Racial Stereotypes Really Fading? The Princeton Trilogy Revisited

Abstract

In this article, the authors identify three methodological short-comings of the classic Princeton trilogy studies: (a) ambiguity of the instructions given to respondents, (b) no assessment of respondents' level of prejudice, and (c) use of an outdated list of adjectives. These shortcomings are addressed in the authors' assessment of the stereotype and personal beliefs of a sample of University of Wisconsin students. In contrast to the commonly espoused fading stereotype proposition, data suggest that there exists a consistent and negative contemporary stereotype of Blacks. Comparing the data from the Princeton trilogy studies with those of the present study, the authors conclude that the Princeton trilogy studies actually measured respondents' personal beliefs, not (as typically assumed) their knowledge of the Black stereotype. Consistent with Devine's model, high- and low-prejudiced individuals did not differ in their knowledge of the stereotype of Blacks but diverged sharply in their endorsement of the stereotype.

Para uma revisão da abordagem multidimensional das impressões de personalidade: O culto, o irresponsável, o compreensivo e o arrogante

“…Isto apesar de haver evidências em áreas de investigação relacionadas, por exemplo no âmbito da percepção de grupos, de que os traços que as pessoas consideram representativos de determinados grupos tendem a mudar ao longo do tempo e de acordo com mudanças na sociedade (e.g., Devine & Elliot, 1995;Madon, Guyll, Aboufadel, Montiel, Smith, Palumbo, & Jussim, 2001). Uma das consequências desta lacuna na literatura das TIP é que ficamos sem saber se os traços de personalidade usados na investigação original de Rosenberg e colaboradores (1968) e também no estudo 1 aqui apresentado, correspondem, hoje em dia, aos traços normalmente usados na descrição e avaliação da personalidade que realizamos no quotidiano ou se, embora mantendo-se a mesma estrutura bidimensional, houve mudanças nos traços de personalidade específicos que melhor representam as duas dimensões desta estrutura.…”

Dissolving the epistemic/ethical dilemma over implicit bias

“…This means that stereotypes can lead us to form distorted beliefs and make distorted judgements: ones that fail to reflect the true nature of individuals. If one interacts with a black male, and applies the black male stereotype, he might display many characteristics -he might be articulate, knowledgeable and generous -but if he shows any signs of being aggressive then one is likely to remember this better than the other features displayed because aggression is a part of the stereotype of black males (Devine and Elliott 1995). One will then believe and judge the man to be aggressive rather than as possessing positive characteristics.…”

The Influence of Individual Factors on Cognitive Process Variables within a Diverse Group Context

“…However, we did not find that gender is a significant predictor of bias and stereotyping. The lack of gender differences for bias and stereotyping may be attributable to the possibility that negative gender stereotypes are fading and females and males are becoming more positive in their perceptions of each other (Dovidio & Gaertner 1991), hence resulting in a reduction of bias and the amelioration of harmonious intergroup relations (Devine & Elliot 1995).…”