STEREOTYPES AS SNOWBALLING HISTORICAL AFFORDANCES: HOW A SOCIETAL GROUP’S IMAGE BECOMES A COGNITIVE AVALANCHE

Abstract

How do stereotypes get started? Despite a century of research, the psychological origins of stereotypes remain obscure and contested (Chapter 1: Touring the Landscape). Moving a step forward, this dissertation identifies one minimal condition for stereotypes to emerge: limited exploration. People choose interactions on the basis of past interactions, and this is enough to create perceived differences even when there are no actual differences between groups – regardless of whether people’s choices are motivated by factors such as in-group favoritism, cognitive limitations such as selective attention, or information deficits resulting from the rarity of minorities (Chapter 2: Sketching the Mechanism). Although psychologically minimal, this mechanism is powerful. It can account for more than good versus bad valence; it can explain why stereotypes have multiple dimensions, including but not limited to the canonical warmth and competence dimensions (Chapter 3: Enriching the Context). What’s more, human biases are now infiltrating powerful large language models, snowballing stereotypes into artificial intelligence (Chapter 4: Sneaking into Artificial Intelligence). But there is hope. Increased exposure to diverse populations might reduce stereotypes (Chapter 5: Finding Solutions). However, mere diversity is not enough. A social system that can encourage continuous exploration is more effective (and a starting point is provided via intervention experiments in Chapter 3). Finally, a forward-looking note draws a blueprint for the future of stereotyping research in particular and social cognition in general (Chapter 6: Toward Social Cognition 2.0).