| A dominant theme in social psychology is that perceivers are cognitive misers who stereotype as a means of coping with an overabundance of target information. This idea forms the basis of two models of stereotyping, the Dual Process and Continuum models. By contrast, the Best Guess Model, a new model of stereotyping introduced in this dissertation, proposes that perceivers are information seekers who stereotype as a means of coping with an insufficient amount of target information.; This research tested predictions of the above models by manipulating the amount of target information provided to subjects and the degree to which subjects were motivated to form accurate impressions. With regard to target information, results indicated that stereotypes typically influenced subjects' impressions most strongly under low information conditions. This finding supports the Best Guess Model because it suggests that subjects used their stereotypes to form impressions when they lacked information about the target, and reduced their reliance on stereotypes when information about the target was more abundant. With regard to accuracy motivation, results indicated that stereotypes influenced subjects' impressions more strongly when subjects were highly motivated to form accurate impressions. This finding also provides support for the Best Guess Model in that subjects who were motivated by accuracy may have used their stereotypes as additional information about the target in order to increase the likelihood that their impressions would be correct.; These results yield preliminary support for the idea that perceivers are information seekers who use stereotypes when they want additional information about targets beyond that which is provided by targets' personal characteristics. Findings are discussed with regard to their implications for members of stereotyped groups. |
