Investigating stereotype structure with empirical network models

Abstract

In this work we present empirical network models as a new approach in the investigation of stereotype structure. We will argue that empirical network models can provide more insight into stereotype structure because they do not suffer from the inherent constraints of factor analysis and multidimensional scaling (e.g., group features interpreted homogeneously only on the basis of their shared variance, impossibility to adequately represent cognitive schemas, difficulties to make inferences on the basis of dimensions potentially overlapping). In the present research we show how empirical network models can represent stereotypes as dynamic cognitive structures clustered in different substructures. These structures will be based on both the stereotype content and the co‐occurrence of features in each group target. Additionally, this research shows how using empirical networks can contribute to broadening the interpretation of stereotypes representing them in the framework of prejudice or intergroup attitudes.

Estimating and Examining the Replicability of Belief System Networks

“…There are multiple methods for analyzing belief systems as networks depending on one's theoretical assumptions (e.g., Boutyline & Vaisey, 2017;Brandt et al, 2019). One approach (Brandt et al, 2019), builds on work conceptualizing a variety of psychological constructs as networks (e.g., Borsboom & Cramer, 2013;Costantini & Perugini, 2016;Dalege et al, 2016;Sayans-Jiménez et al, 2019) and models belief systems using a partial correlation approach. This approach assumes that nodes that are positively connected want to be like one another, that connected nodes reciprocally affect one another, and that nodes that are unconnected are independent conditional on all of the other nodes of the network.…”

Conservatives’ Moral Foundations Are More Densely Connected Than Liberals’ Moral Foundations

“…The idea of conceptualizing a psychological construct, such as moral foundations, as a system is not new. Others have conceptualized psychopathologies ( Borsboom, 2017 ), personality traits ( Costantini & Perugini, 2016 ), intelligence ( van der Maas et al, 2017 ), stereotypes ( Sayans-Jiménez et al, 2019 ), political belief systems ( Brandt et al, 2019 ), and individual attitudes ( Dalege et al, 2017 ) as networks. For example, in psychopathology, network models of depression conceptualize depressive symptoms as nodes in a network that mutually influence one another, leading to depressive episodes, but also recovery ( Cramer et al, 2016 ).…”

Anti-roma Bias (Stereotypes, Prejudice, Behavioral Tendencies): A Network Approach Toward Attitude Strength

“…Network analysis is a relatively novel approach to modeling individual differences in psychological constructs by representing the direct interactions between their underlying components. Representing stereotype structures through network models has also recently received attention from researchers in the field (e.g., Sayans-Jiménez et al, 2018;Grigoryev et al, 2019). Modeling the direct and unique interrelations between a relatively higher number of variables as a network can be an advantageous method to render possible picturing of a more comprehensive representation of stereotype dynamics.…”