Animals as Social Objects

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Sevillano ◽  
Susan T. Fiske

Abstract. Nonhuman animals are typically excluded from the scope of social psychology. This article presents animals as social objects – targets of human social responses – overviewing the similarities and differences with human targets. The focus here is on perceiving animal species as social groups. Reflecting the two fundamental dimensions of humans’ social cognition – perceived warmth (benign or ill intent) and competence (high or low ability), proposed within the Stereotype Content Model ( Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002 ) – animal stereotypes are identified, together with associated prejudices and behavioral tendencies. In line with human intergroup threats, both realistic and symbolic threats associated with animals are reviewed. As a whole, animals appear to be social perception targets within the human sphere of influence and a valid topic for research.

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 879-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Sevillano ◽  
Susan T. Fiske

Using the stereotype content model (SCM; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002) and the behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes (BIAS) map (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007), two experiments tested the effect of animal stereotypes on emotions and behavioral tendencies toward animals. As a novel approach, Study 1 ( N = 165) manipulated warmth and competence traits of a fictitious animal species (“wallons”) and tested their effect on emotions and behaviors toward those animals. Stereotypical warm-competent and cold-incompetent “wallons” elicited fondness/delight and contempt/disgust, respectively. Cold-competent “wallons” primarily elicited threat but not awe. Warm-incompetent “wallons” were elusive targets, not eliciting specific emotions. The warmth dimension determined active behaviors, promoting facilitation (support/help) and reducing harm (kill/trap). The competence dimension determined passive behaviors, eliciting facilitation (conserve/monitor) and reducing harm (ignore/let them die off). Study 2 ( N = 112) tested the relation between animal stereotypes for 25 species and realistic scenarios concerning behavioral tendencies toward animals. Similar to Study 1, stereotypically warm (vs. cold) animals matched with active scenarios, eliciting more facilitation (i.e., national health campaign) but less harm (i.e., fighting animals). Stereotypically competent (vs. incompetent) animals matched with passive scenarios, eliciting more facilitation (i.e., restricted areas) but less harm (i.e., accidental mortality). Accordingly, stereotypes limited the suitability of scenarios toward animals. Although findings are consistent with the SCM/BIAS map framework, several unpredicted results emerged. The mixed support is discussed in detail, along with the implications of an intergroup approach to animals.


2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Asbrock

The stereotype content model says that warmth and competence are fundamental dimensions of social judgment. This brief report analyzes the cultural stereotypes of relevant social groups in a German student sample (N = 82). In support of the model, stereotypes of 29 societal groups led to five stable clusters of differing warmth and competence evaluations. As expected, clusters cover all four possible combinations of warmth and competence. The study also reports unique findings for the German context, for example, similarities between the perceptions of Turks and other foreigners. Moreover, it points to different stereotypes of lesbians and gay men.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 458-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trenton D. Mize ◽  
Bianca Manago

The stereotype content model provides a powerful tool to examine influential societal stereotypes associated with social groups. We theorize how stereotypes of gender, sexuality, and a group’s status in society combine to influence societal views of sexual orientation groups—placing particular emphasis on stereotypes of warmth and competence. In two survey experiments, we collect quantitative measures of stereotype content and open-response items on the stereotypes of bisexual individuals. We predict—and find—that gay men and lesbian women face disadvantaging stereotypes; bisexual men and women, however, face the most severely negative stereotypes of any sexual orientation group—with aggregate judgments of low warmth and competence. In the second study, using a diverse sample, we show that stereotypes about sexual orientation groups are largely culturally consensual. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of comparative approaches that consider both advantaged and disadvantaged groups to fully contextualize stereotypes of minority groups.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Kervyn ◽  
Susan Fiske ◽  
Vincent Yzerbyt

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) posits two fundamental dimensions of intergroup perception, warmth and competence, predicted by socio-structural dimensions of competition and status, respectively. However, the SCM has been challenged on claiming perceived competition as the socio-structural dimension that predicts perceived warmth. The current research improves by broadening warmth’s predictor (competition) to include both realistic and symbolic threat from Integrated Threat Theory (Study 1). We also measure two components of the warmth dimension: sociability and morality. Study 2 tests new items to measure both threat and warmth. The new threat items significantly improve prediction of warmth, compared with standard SCM items. Morality and sociability correlate highly and do not differ much in their predictability by competition/threat.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 226-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick F. Kotzur ◽  
Nora Forsbach ◽  
Ulrich Wagner

Abstract. Differences in word connotations can have far-reaching consequences. We investigated the content, and emotional and behavioral consequences of the social perception of fled people as a function of their label (“refugees” vs. “asylum seekers”; “war refugees” vs. “economic refugees” vs. “refugees”) using a factorial survey (n = 389). Based on qualitative data on perceived intentions associated with the labels, we deducted predictions regarding differences in the Stereotype Content Model and Behavior from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes Map. Participants evaluated refugees and asylum seekers similarly. Economic refugees were evaluated more negatively than war refugees or refugees, while the profiles of war refugees and refugees matched. These findings suggest that the choice of words to refer to fled people has profound consequences.


Author(s):  
Zouhui Ji ◽  
Yaping Yang ◽  
Xinfang Fan ◽  
Yuting Wang ◽  
Qiang Xu ◽  
...  

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) has been validated in multiple countries and regions. However, previous validation studies in China have been limited by small sample size. The current research increased the sample size (n = 184 in the pilot study; n1 = 1315 and n2 = 268 in the formal study) to validate the SCM in mainland China in study 1. Supporting the SCM, 41 social groups were clustered into four quadrants based on warmth and competence dimensions. 35 of the 41 target groups (85.37%) receive ambivalent stereotype. Perceived warmth and competence were positively correlated (r = 0.585, p < 0.001). Status and competence were positively related (r = 0.81, p < 0.001), and competition and warmth were negatively related (r = −0.77, p < 0.001). In addition, 24 typical social groups were selected and a list of stereotype words for these groups was developed in study 2 (n1 = 48, n2 = 52). The implications of the emerging social groups and the applications of this stereotype word list are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Kauff ◽  
Jens H. Hellmann ◽  
Dennis Nigbur ◽  
Frank Asbrock

One of the most prominent social-psychological models describing the content of stereotypes about social groups is the Stereotype Content Model. The model assumes that social groups can be clustered along the dimensions of warmth (How well-intentioned is a group?) and competence (How capable is a group to implement its intentions?). We used this model to describe consensually shared stereotypes about soccer clubs from the German Bundesliga and the English Premier League. Using online questionnaires, we asked 681 and 800 participants to rate warmth, competence of as well as general attitudes and certain emotions associated with clubs from the Bundesliga (Study 1) and the Premier League (Study 2). Results indicated that clubs in both leagues can be grouped into three clusters along the dimensions of warmth and competence. Our approach extends previous work that mainly focusses on unidimensional evaluations of clubs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1001
Author(s):  
Yaping Yang ◽  
Katherine R. G. White ◽  
Xinfang Fan ◽  
Qiang Xu ◽  
Qing-Wei Chen

The stereotype content model (SCM; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick and Xu, 2002) identifies four basic categories of stereotyped social groups: high warmth-high competence (HW-HC), high warmth-low competence (HW-LC), low warmth-high competence (LW-HC), and low warmth-low competence (LW-LC). However, many of these groups have not been directly examined in stereotype activation research. The purpose of the present research was to extend stereotype activation research to groups that more fully represent those identified under the SCM. Employing explicit sequential priming task, participants responded to prime-target stimulus pairs that were either congruent or incongruent with stereotypes of social groups from all four SCM quadrants in two studies in the current investigation. Study 1 was to determine the behavioral pattern of explicit stereotype activation among four quadrants (the sample included 60 Chinese undergraduate students, 51%—female). Study 2 further employed event-related brain potentials (ERPs) technique to track the time course and electrophysiological underpinnings of explicit stereotype activation (the sample included 22 right-handed Chinese undergraduate students, 76%—female). In Study 1, participants responded more quickly and accurately on stereotype congruent trials than incongruent trials for all social groups except LW-LC groups. This reverse priming effect on LW-LC social groups in RTs was also replicated in Study 2. ERPs findings further showed that incongruent targets elicited larger N400 amplitudes than congruent targets for all four SCM quadrants. Moreover, congruent targets elicited larger P2 than incongruent targets, but only found for the LW-LC social groups. In addition, congruent targets elicited larger amplitudes of late positive component than incongruent targets for the low warmth (LW-LC and LW-HC) groups. Together, these results highlight the unique processing that LW-LC groups receive throughout the cognitive stream, ultimately manifesting in distinctive behavioral responses. Unconscious activation of egalitarian goals, disgust, and distrust accounts are discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1488-1498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian S. Crandall ◽  
Angela J. Bahns ◽  
Ruth Warner ◽  
Mark Schaller

Three experiments investigate how stereotypes form as justifications for prejudice. The authors created novel content-free prejudices toward unfamiliar social groups using either subliminal (Experiment 1, N = 79) or supraliminal (Experiment 2, N = 105; Experiment 3, N = 130) affective conditioning and measured the consequent endorsement of stereotypes about the groups. Following the stereotype content model, analyses focused on the extent to which stereotypes connoted warmth or competence. Results from all three experiments revealed effects on the warmth dimension but not on the competence dimension: Groups associated with negative affect were stereotyped as comparatively cold (but not comparatively incompetent). These results provide the first evidence that—in the absence of information, interaction, or history of behavioral discrimination—stereotypes develop to justify prejudice.


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