Inconsistent and Consistent Information in the Psychology of Stereotypical Behavior

Inconsistent and Consistent Information in the Psychology of Stereotypical Behavior.

The theoretical and practical implications of inconsistent and consistent information in the Psychology of Stereotypical Behavior differentiates in two ways. With consistent information, a group is known for certain behaviors (negative or positive), and the subject who is analyzing the behavior may lose interest since the known behavior is consistent with the stereotype. However, when a group shows inconsistencies of the perceived stereotypical behaviors, then the analyzer will question the inconsistencies, and give specific attention to the group.

Case Study

Practical Consistent Behavior

Recently, the media produced audio files of stereotypical, racist, discriminatory and defamatory statements from Donald Sterling, who is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Though given the benefit of the doubt, the term “racist” stuck in the minds of the media audience, thereby, labeling Sterling as a racist before personally meeting Sterling. However, as days and weeks passed, Sterling’s consistent behavior on camera showed proof of racism. In analyzing Sterling after the release of the first audio file, the author’s attention concentrated on Sterling’s words, which in-so-doing, according to Schneider (2004), revealed Sterling’s character and behaviors (124). The media, according to Macrae, Stangor, and Milne (1994), “primed stereotypes by having subjects [i.e., the media audience] lists traits relevant to stereotype” (as cited in Schneider, 2004, p. 124). Therefore, the author used categories under gender (white male), race (Jewish) and an active schema under (racist). The audio file was the root of the “perceptually degrading words that were relate...

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... would continue to monitor and analyze while paying “additional attention to the behavior” (125). The above aforementioned examples confirms Schneider’s hypothesis Inconsistent and Consistent Information in the Psychology of Stereotypical Behavior.

Works Cited

Hilton, J. L., Klein, J.G., & von Hippel, W. (1991). Attention Allocation and Impressional Formation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 548-559.

Macrae, C.N., Stangor, C., & Milne, A.B. (1994). Activating Stereotpes: A Functional Analysis. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 370-389.

Schneider, D. J. (2004). The Psychology of Stereotyping. New York: The Guilford Press.

Stern, L. D., Marrs, S., Millar, M.G. & Cole, E. (1984). Processing Time and th Recall of Inconsistent and Consistent Behviors of Individuals and Groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 253-262.