کلیشه ها و مقایسه اجتماعی ضمنی و دگرگونی در تمرکز مقایسه گروهی

Abstract Stereotypes affect how people understand implicit comparisons. In two studies, people judged the comparison implied by a statement (e.g., “Math is easy for me,” “I’m really aggressive”) made by an African-American, White, or Asian-American male. Counter-stereotypic comments, such as the African-American saying he was “bad” at basketball, caused participants to think the target was comparing himself to his narrow ingroup; stereotypic statements caused people to infer that the comparison group was broader. When compared to a fixed standard (all people in USA), evidence that people used stereotypes consistently emerged. Whether motivated or not, by narrowing the comparison standard when presented with a counter-stereotypic case, participants constructed an understanding of the target that protected the stereotype from challenge.

Conclusion It has long been known that our beliefs and expectations about the world color our understanding of new events (Bruner, 1973). Stereotypes surround us, functioning as lenses through which we understand the world. Ambiguous language is interpreted in terms of relevant stereotypes. Yet this language is interpreted in as plausible a way as possible. The plausible interpretation perpetuates stereotypes; people interpret ambiguous information such that their stereotypes hold true, but may fail to appreciate that it is the interpretation that allows them to be true. It is not necessary that this process be motivated by prejudice, ill will, or nefarious intent. The process is just as likely to be the result of normal sense-making and “filling in the blanks” in the communication process. It could be motivated by a desire to maintain an existing worldview, or be a product of expectations that arise from knowledge of the pervasive cultural stereotypes. Regardless, the comparison we hear when other people make stereotype-relevant utterances is shaped by our stereotypes, and allows our stereotypes to survive even contradictory utterances. Thus they reflect our worldview as much, or more than, the meaning the speaker intended.