Stereotypes Help People Connect With Others in the Community: A Situated Functional Analysis of the Stereotype Consistency Bias in Communication

Abstract

Communicators tend to share more stereotype-consistent than stereotype-inconsistent information. The authors propose and test a situated functional model of this stereotype consistency bias: Stereotype-consistent and inconsistent information differentially serve 2 central functions of communication-sharing information and regulating relationships; depending on the communication context, information seen to serve these different functions better is more likely communicated. Results showed that stereotype-consistent information is perceived as more socially connective but less informative than inconsistent information, and when the stereotype is perceived to be highly shared in the community, ..