Attribution of value stereotypes as a consequence of group membership: Latvian and Russian students living in Latvia compared

Abstract

This study examined stereotyping in a real world minority/majority context. A total of 157 Latvian and 172 Russian high school students rated the importance of a wide variety of values for oneself, for one's ethnic in-group, for out-group members, and for contemporary people. The minority group members (Russians) attributed very similar value profiles to themselves and to the in-group members, which was not true for the majority group members (Latvians). There was also a higher degree of correspondence between the Latvians’ stereotype of their own group (autostereotype) and the stereotype of Latvians held by Russians than between the Russian autostereotype and the stereotype of Russians held by Latvians. There were no differences between the groups with respect to value profiles attributed to contemporary people. The results were interpreted in terms of the social context of situations involving a minority and a majority group.