Implicit Stereotyping and Medical Decisions: Unconscious Stereotype Activation in Practitioners' Thoughts About African Americans

In the present study, automatic stereotype activation related to racial categories was examined utilizing a primed Stroop task. The speed of participants' ink-color naming of stereotypic and nonstereotypic target words following Black and White category primes were compared: slower naming times are presumed to reflect interference from automatic activation. The results provide support for automatic activation of implicit prejudice and stereotypes. With respect to prejudice, naming latencies tended to be slower for positive words following White than Black primes and slower for negative words following Black than White primes. With regard to stereotypes, participants demonstrated slower naming latencies for Black stereotypes, primarily those that were negatively valenced, following Black than White category primes. These findings provide further evidence of the automatic activation of stereotypes and prejudice that occurs without intention.

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The Proactive Control of Stereotype Activation

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000110 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 220 (3) ◽

pp. 172-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Gordon B. Moskowitz ◽

Jeff Stone

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Lexical Decision ◽

African American Male ◽

Goal Pursuit ◽

Decision Task ◽

Proactive Control ◽

Stereotype Activation ◽

White Face ◽

Face Experiment

Stereotypes are typically conceived of as controlled through conscious willing. We propose that goals can lead to stereotype control even when the goals are not consciously noted. This is called proactive control since goal pursuit occurs not as a reaction to a stereotype having been activated and having exerted influence, but as an act of goal shielding that inhibits stereotypes instead of activating them. In two experiments proactive control over stereotypes toward African Americans was illustrated using a lexical decision task. In Experiment 1, participants with egalitarian goals showed slower responses to stereotypic words when following an African American male face (relative to following a White face). Experiment 2 illustrated African American faces facilitated responses to stimuli relevant to egalitarian goals; White faces did not. Together, these studies indicate that, without consciously trying, participants with egalitarian goals’ implicit reaction to African Americans included triggering fairness goals and inhibiting stereotypes.

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Gender Issues in Medical Decisions: Implicit Stereotyping and Unconscious Bias

Korean Circulation Journal ◽

10.4070/kcj.2018.0151 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (6) ◽

pp. 529 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gi-Byoung Nam

Keyword(s):

Gender Issues ◽

Unconscious Bias ◽

Medical Decisions ◽

Implicit Stereotyping

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Implementation Intentions Reduce Implicit Stereotype Activation and Application

10.31234/osf.io/zheun ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Heather Rees ◽

Andrew M Rivers

Keyword(s):

Implementation Intentions ◽

Digit Span ◽

Cognitive Resources ◽

Implicit Measures ◽

Action Plans ◽

Stereotype Activation ◽

Highly Efficient ◽

Response Window ◽

Implicit Stereotyping

Research has found that implementation intentions, if-then action plans (e.g., “if I see a Black face, I will think safe”; Stewart & Payne, 2008), reduce stereotyping on implicit measures. However, it is unknown by what process(es) implementation intentions reduce implicit stereotyping. The present research examines the effects of implementation intentions on stereotype activation (e.g., extent to which stereotypic information is accessible) and stereotype application (e.g., extent to which accessible stereotypes are applied in judgment). Additionally, we assessed the efficiency of implementation intentions by manipulating cognitive resources (e.g., digit-span, restricted response-window) while participants made judgments on an implicit stereotyping measure. Across four studies, implementation intentions reduced implicit stereotyping. This decrease in stereotyping was associated with reductions in both stereotype activation and application. Additionally, these effects of implementation intentions were highly efficient and associated with reduced stereotyping even for groups for which people may have little practice inhibiting stereotypes (e.g., gender).

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Examining the Relationships Among Categorization, Stereotype Activation, and Stereotype Application

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0146167219861431 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 499-513

Author(s):

Heather Rose Rees ◽

Debbie S. Ma ◽

Jeffrey W. Sherman

Keyword(s):

Process Model ◽

Social Categorization ◽

Stereotype Activation ◽

Implicit Stereotyping

Increased category salience is associated with increased stereotyping. Prior research has not examined the processes that may account for this relationship. That is, it is unclear whether category salience leads to increased stereotyping by increasing stereotype activation (i.e., increased accessibility of stereotypic information), application (i.e., increasing the tendency to apply activated stereotypes), or both processes simultaneously. We examined this question across three studies by manipulating category salience in an implicit stereotyping measure and by applying a process model that provides independent estimates of stereotype activation and application. Our results replicated past findings that category salience increases stereotyping. Modeling results showed that category salience consistently increased the extent of stereotype application but increased stereotype activation in more limited contexts. Implications for models of social categorization and stereotyping are discussed.

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Implementation Intentions Reduce Implicit Stereotype Activation and Application

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0146167218775695 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 37-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Heather Rose Rees ◽

Andrew Michael Rivers ◽

Jeffrey W. Sherman

Keyword(s):

Implementation Intentions ◽

Digit Span ◽

Cognitive Resources ◽

Implicit Measures ◽

Action Plans ◽

Stereotype Activation ◽

Highly Efficient ◽

Response Window ◽

Implicit Stereotyping

Research has found that implementation intentions, if–then action plans (e.g., “if I see a Black face, I will think safe”), reduce stereotyping on implicit measures. However, it is unknown by what process(es) implementation intentions reduce implicit stereotyping. The present research examines the effects of implementation intentions on stereotype activation (e.g., extent to which stereotypic information is accessible) and stereotype application (e.g., extent to which accessible stereotypes are applied in judgment). In addition, we assessed the efficiency of implementation intentions by manipulating cognitive resources (e.g., digit-span, restricted response window) while participants made judgments on an implicit stereotyping measure. Across four studies, implementation intentions reduced implicit stereotyping. This decrease in stereotyping was associated with reductions in both stereotype activation and application. In addition, these effects of implementation intentions were highly efficient and associated with reduced stereotyping even for groups for which people may have little practice inhibiting stereotypes (e.g., gender).

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