The Social Psychology of Stereotyping and Group Life

by Spears, Russell; Oakes, Penelope J.; Ellemers, Naomi; Haslam, S. Alexander

• ISBN13: 9780631197737
• ISBN10: 0631197737
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-01-23
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Stereotyping - the process of perceiving and reacting to people in terms of their group membership - is a widespread phenomenon, and one of the most widely investigated topics in social psychology. This new book is about the causes and consequences of stereotyping. It begins from the premise that, in order to understand the nature and function of stereotyping, it is essential to understand its role in, and relationship to, the activities of social groups. In so doing, it provides an alternative to more cognitive approaches that regard stereotyping primarily as a bias produced by the limits of individual information processing. The contributors debate and challenge a range of traditional beliefs about stereotyping by exploring its social functions in intergroup contexts. They also tackle a range of thorny problems in sterotyping and related literatures: including the question of sterotype accuracy, why stereotypes develop and are widely shared, and how stereotypes and sterotyping impact upon people's self-esteem and self-definition. In short, this book examines how stereotypes are structured by social identities and the relations between groups.

Author Biography

Russell Spears is Professor of Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. Penelope J. Oakes is a Senior Lecturer in psychology at the Australian National University. Naomi Ellemers is a Lecturer at the Free University of Amsterdam. S. Alexander Haslam is a Lecturer at the Australian National University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

List of Contributors

Introduction: The Social Psychology of Stereotyping and Group Life

Stereotypes as Explanations: A Subjective Essentialistic View of Group Perception

Asking the Accuracy Question: Is Measurement the Answer?

Changing the Stereotype of the Stereotype

Stereotype Construction as a Strategy of Influence

Stereotyping and Social Influence: Foundations of Stereotype Consensus

Stereotype Formation: Beyond Illusionary Correlation

Stereotyping and the Burden of Cognitive Load

Stereotyping in Social Context

Categorization, Recategorization and Common Ingroup Identity

Stereotyping under Threat: The Role of Group Identification

Interdependence, Social Identity and Discrimination

The Self-esteem Hypothesis Revisited: Differentiation and the Disaffected

Self and Group in Modern Society: Ten Theses on the Individual Self and the Collective Self

Commentary: Individual, Group and System Levels of Aanlysis and their Relevance for Stereotyping and Intergroup Relations

References

Author Index

Subject Index

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