A study of the automatic stereotypic activation of driving behavior prediction, based on vehicle type categories

This paper investigated how stereotyping predicts behavioral traits of the individual, based on learned perceptions of the group. The prediction of behavior stems from the precept that group stereotyping may lead to the assignment of specific traits to the individual group members. This assignment of traits is activated when group membership is perceived and manifested as an envisioned series of probable events. Furthermore, stereotype activation has been shown to be automatic and that group membership can be identified unconsciously. The automaticity of the activation should be demonstrated through simple cognitive tasks. Seventy-five students took part in a simple word recognition task to see if a vehicle category prime would influence the speed at which a behavioral trait was recognized. Little support for the hypothesis was found, however, due to technical difficulties.