Stereotype Content: Warmth and Competence Endure

Abstract

Two dimensions persist in social cognition, whether people are making sense of individuals or groups. The Stereotype Content Model terms the basic dimensions perceived warmth (trustworthiness, friendliness) and competence (capability, assertiveness). Measured reliably and validly, these Big Two dimensions converge across methods: survey, cultural, laboratory, and biobehavioral approaches. Generality across place, levels, and time further support the framework. Parallel pairs have emerged repeatedly over the history of psychology and in current theories. The SCM proposes and tests a comprehensive causal theory: perceived social structure (cooperation, status) → stereotypes (warmth, competence) → emotional prejudices (pride, pity, contempt, envy) → discrimination (active and passive help and harm). The SCM uncovers systematic content and dynamics of stereotypes, with practical implications.

Stereotype content of refugee subgroups in Germany

“…Elderly people , Homeless people , and generic Refugees were eligible for analysis, while Germans and Rich people had to be discarded due to non‐acceptable model fit. Regarding warmth, we assumed Elderly people , a group particularly high on warmth (Fiske, ), to score highest of all groups—an assumption that was supported empirically. All groups received significantly lower warmth ratings than Elderly people (α W = 1.931, rank 1).…”

“…This expectation was empirically supported, as Homeless people (α C = −0.733, rank 10) indicated significantly lower competence ratings than any other social group. Surprisingly, all refugee subgroups received significantly lower competence ratings than Elderly people (α C = 1.301, rank 1), a group that has also been associated with low competence (Fiske, ). Generic Refugees (α C = 0.000, rank 6) were rated as significantly less competent than Economic refugees and significantly higher in competence than Refugees from North Africa (α C = −0.348, rank 9)…”

“…Moreover, note that Homeless people were usually perceived as among “the lowest of the low” (Fiske, , p. 68; see also Asbrock, , for a German sample), receiving the lowest warmth and competence scores. Our results showed, however, that Refugees from North Africa were rated lower on warmth, while also being rated low on competence.…”

“…Given the novelty of applying confirmatory latent modelling procedures in SCM research, we can only speculate why some groups did not fit the baseline model. One implication would be that the global claim of the “generality across place, levels, and time” (Fiske, , p. 67) of stereotype content dimensions may not be upheld without (to date unknown) boundary conditions. Therefore, we strongly recommend the increased usage of latent modelling approaches in future SCM research to cast more light on these questions and thus strengthen the empirical foundation of the theoretical framework of the SCM.…”

Social psychological research on prejudice as collective action supporting emergent ingroup members

“…A number of social groups are likely to be seen as ingroup members by mainstream perceivers in American society (Figure , right side). The list includes prototypical ingroups such as doctors and engineers who have long been seen as acceptable in society (Crandall, Eshleman, & O'Brien, ; Fiske, ). Also included are peripheral ingroups such as ethnic and sexual minorities who are increasingly seen as acceptable in society (Crandall, Ferguson, & Bahns, ).…”