The elicitation of stereotypes: An experimental investigation

Abstract

This study consists of an investigation into the problems connected with the elicitation of stereotypes. An attempt was made to discover what aspects of elicitation procedures affected the types of judgements made. Six experiments were run, five of which were variations on two broad methodological paradigms (the adjective check-list method, and the semantic differential format), and the sixth experiment used a direct elicitation approach. Four areas of stereotyping were investigated - race, occupation, dress style and Christian names - and it was hypothesized that individuals who endorsed the stereotype of one area, would also endorse the stereotypes of other areas. Subjects were mainly university students, but three nonstudent populations were also used - from a school, a technical college, and adult education classes. An examination of the results revealed that methodological and stimulus variations produced many differences in the quality of stereotypes produced across the six experiments. Occupational stereotypes were the strongest and most clearly defined, with racial stereotypes being the most ambiguous and vague. It was established that knowledge of the stereotype content of these four areas was held by the subjects, but this required a direct elicitation technique to produce. When disguised elicitation procedures were used, endorsements of this stereotype content was considerably lessened. The hypothesis that stereotype generalisation would occur was not upheld.