The role of Afrocentric features in person perception: Judging by features and categories.

Abstract

Four studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that group-related physical features may directly activate related stereotypes, leading to more stereotypic inferences over and above those resulting from categorization. As predicted, targets with more Afrocentric features were judged as more likely to have traits stereotypic of African Americans. This effect was found with judgments of African Americans and of European Americans. Furthermore, the effect was not eliminated when a more sensitive measure of categorization processes (category accessibility) was used or when the judgement context made category distinctions salient. Of additional interest was the finding that category accessibility independently affected judgment, such that targets who could be more quickly categorized as group members were judged more stereotypically.

Motions of the Hand Expose the Partial and Parallel Activation of Stereotypes

“…These data help account for-and also provoke new questions about-recent findings of exemplar typicality and face variation effects on stereotype activation and social judgment (e.g., Blair, Judd, Sadler, & Jenkins, 2002;Livingston & Brewer, 2002;Locke, Macrae, & Eaton, 2005). Specifically, these findings provide a novel demonstration of how variation of categorycuing information biases the real-time stereotyping process in a continuous and graded way.…”

Accuracy and awareness in the perception and categorization of male sexual orientation.

“…For instance, judgments of race are based on both skin tone and other features (e.g., Blair, Judd, Sadler, & Jenkins, 2002;Maddox, 2004). We may have theories about some cues that we can easily apply (such as skin tone), but we might not realize that other cues affect our judgments as well (such as facial features; see Blair, Judd, & Fallman, 2004).…”

On the Categorization of Admired and Disliked Exemplars of Admired and Disliked Racial Groups.

“…The treatment of atypical exemplars may differ if photographs or videotapes, rather than verbal labels, are used to cue group membership (Gilbert & Hixon, 1991;Macrae & Bodenhausen, 2000). When presented with photographs, for instance, individuals can simply rely on seemingly diagnostic features of the exemplars to assign membership in visible categories (Blair, Judd, Sadler, & Jenkins, 2002;Livingston & Brewer, 2002;Maddox & Gray, 2002; but see also Olson, Lambert, & Zacks, 2004;Zárate & Sandoval, 1995). When famous (or infamous) exemplars are used, furthermore, participants do not need to perceive the exemplars' racial group memberships but can simply generate them from memory.…”