Warmth Stereotypes Research Articles

‘Not that We’re not Hard-Working Ourselves, but Germans are the Model’: mediatising Germans as the national other in the video project Easy Languages

ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the analysis of four videos which portray the ways British, Italian, French and Greek people talk about Germans as the national other, within the context of a video series project aiming to promote multilingualism and foreign language learning (Easy Languages). Contrary to traditional views on national stereotypes from social psychology, and on cultural categorisations of countries from intercultural communication as universally fixed entities, a Critical Discourse Studies perspective is adopted, which views them instead as hegemonic discourses, which sustain particular power relations with the excuse of ‘cultural’ difference. The analysis discloses that the mediatisation of Germans as the national other aligns with the well-known national stereotypes of competence and warmth, as well as with the widely held cultural categorisations distinguishing monochronic from polychronic countries. Yet, viewed as dynamic discursive resources, it is shown that discussing national matters is a delicate topic, requiring a positive impression management, especially within a context with ‘clear’ intercultural objectives. Moreover, these discourses lead to the neutralisation of politics through culturalisation.

Effects of Stereotype-Focused Imagined Contact on Young Adults' Intentions for Intergenerational Interaction.

Face-to-face intergenerational contact is associated with more positive attitudes toward older adults. However, such contact can be difficult to achieve, and poor contact experiences can have negative consequences for intergenerational relations. We examined whether mentally simulated intergenerational contact (which is more easily facilitated and controllable) could reduce young adults' inclinations to avoid intergenerational interactions by increasing their inclusion of the older outgroup in the self (IOS), and by enhancing their stereotypes of older adults' warmth and competence. We conducted an online experiment with 373 young adults from the United States. Participants imagined talking with an older adult (aged 70-75 years) in the circumstances intended to make salient either the older adult's warmth or their competence. Both manipulations increased young adult participants' IOS with respect to older adults, which in turn predicted more positive assessments of older adults' warmth and competence. IOS, along with ratings of warmth and competence, inversely predicted the desire to avoid future interaction with older adults. Findings indicate the viability of a simple and accessible intervention to improve intergenerational relations, which can be tailored to address different goals (e.g., encouraging intergenerational friendships vs. encouraging support for equal rights of older members of the workforce).

Ethnic Stereotype Content Beyond Intergroup Relations Within Societies: Exploring the North-South Hypothesis for Competence and Warmth

The study extends the approach of the Stereotype Content Model to ethnic stereotype content beyond intergroup relations within societies by exploring the North-South hypothesis for competence and warmth. This paper claims that the “desperate” (resource-poor and unpredictable) of lower-latitude climate regions and “hopeful” (resource-sufficient and stable) ecology higher-latitude climate regions translate into typical aggregate attributes and are afterward generalized to the status of all their residents. Further, people use this information as a diagnostic for judgments about the economic value or burden of ethnic groups in their society. Based on the data about aggregated means of competence and warmth for 77 ethnic groups in 38 regions, the multivariate models show that ethnic groups from warmer climates and from lower wealth countries are given lower evaluation in both competence and warmth stereotypes. However, ethnic groups from more northerly countries are also given a lower evaluation in warmth. Ethnic stereotypes reflect both features of ethnic groups in countries of origin (e.g., the North-South polarization) and group characteristics carried by ethnic groups in new contexts (i.e., intergroup relations). Thus, reactions to ethnic groups seem to differ partly depending on countries of origin mixed in people’s minds with information about geography, climate, and national wealth in the social perception process. Stereotypes associated with ethnic groups across countries to some extent track the stereotypes associated with the ecologies in which these ethnic groups are assumed to predominantly live. This highlights the importance of the establishment or expansion of policies and programs regarding international inequality.

Stereotype contents, emotions, and public attitudes: How do Chinese people stereotype nations and national groups?

Previous studies have provided various explanations for people's attitudes toward foreign countries, but we still know very little about causal mechanisms of attitude formation. In this study, we propose that stereotypes play an important role in affecting individuals’ attitudes toward foreign countries. Drawing on survey data collected in 2019 and 2020 in China, we apply the stereotype content model to analyze Chinese people's attitudes toward five countries: the United States, Japan, India, Tanzania, and China itself. Our analyses show that: (a) Chinese respondents stereotype the five countries differently along two dimensions—warmth and competence—with the extremely high evaluations of China itself, indicating in-group favoritism; (b) warmth–competence combinations are closely linked with four emotions—admiration, envy, pity, and contempt—but are also affected by historical and cultural contexts; (c) stereotype contents can predict favorable attitudes toward foreign countries, with warmth stereotypes being more predictive than competence stereotypes; emotions can also predict favorability; and (d) stereotypes of countries are similar to stereotypes of persons from those countries, as is the case for emotions and attitudes.

Is the stereotype of welfare recipients associated with type of welfare state regime? A cross‐national meta‐regression of the stereotype content model

AbstractThe association of societal‐level structural factors with stereotypes and stigma can be examined using the stereotype content model (SCM). The main aim of the current study was to review and synthesize all available research data of SCM dimensions of Warmth and Competence perceptions of welfare recipients, and compare the ratings in different types of social welfare regimes (Nordic, Conservative, and Liberal). To do this, we reviewed all published literature using the SCM methodology to assess stereotypes of welfare recipients and perfomed a cross‐national meta‐regression of 17 datasets (total N = 1797) drawn from six countries representing three types of welfare regimes. In each of the studies, participants were asked how others in their country viewed welfare recipients on the dimensions of warmth and competence. We predicted and found support for the hypothesis that countries with a Nordic welfare regime have a warmer cultural stereotype of welfare recipients than countries with a Liberal or Conservative regime. However, the expected association between Liberal welfare regime and incompetence stereotypes was not found. Supplementary analyses showed that the type of welfare regime better explained country differences in welfare stereotypes than country differences in income inequality. This study demonstrates how stereotypes of warmth and competence vary across welfare regimes, adding to knowledge about how societal‐level factors are related to cultural stereotypes.

For the love of music: Changing Whites’ stereotypes of Asians with mediated intergroup musical contact

ABSTRACT This study examined whether stereotypes of warmth and competence can be changed through exposure to outgroup musical behavior. We hypothesized that exposure to an outgroup musician would result in more perceived outgroup warmth, reduced intergroup anxiety, and more pro-diversity attitudes relative to nonmusical outgroup exposure, and that these effects would be mediated by target warmth, synchronization, empathy, and trust. The hypotheses were tested in the context of anti-Asian prejudice early in the COVID19 pandemic. We found substantial support for our mediator predictions: experimental exposure to an Asian musician yielded more positive warmth and synchronization perceptions, for instance, than exposure to an Asian nonmusician. Those perceptions were subsequently associated with more positive perceptions of Asians as a group.

The stereotype rub-off effect – Organizational stereotypes modulate behavioural expectations, expectancy violation and punishment after transgressions

Transgressions committed by employees of non-profit (vs. of for-profit) organizations seem to be judged more harshly by the public. This research studies the underlying process of this relationship. We show that organizational stereotypes of morality and warmth “rub-off” from organizations to individuals affiliated with them (Study 1, N = 297). We show that stereotypes of morality and warmth predict expected communal sharing and market pricing behaviour. (Study 2, N = 300). Next, we identify downstream effects of this stereotype rub-off effect in case of transgressions. We show that communal sharing expectations elicit greater perceived expectancy violation and consequently higher punishment when employees commit transgressions (Study 3, N = 402). In sum, as a result of high perceived morality and warmth and subsequent expectations of communal sharing, transgressions of employees affiliated with non-profit organizations prompt increased expectancy violation in observers, leading to harsher punishment. Our findings have important implications for public relations management of non-profit organizations.

Not All Wrongdoers Are Equal in the Public Eye: A Moderated Mediation Model of Country Stereotypes, Condemning Emotions, and Retaliatory Intent in Corporate Crises

Corporate crises generate condemning emotions and retaliatory intent toward the offending companies. However, not all wrongdoers are equal in the public eye. Consumers’ prior beliefs about a company’s country of origin may bias these responses. In three experimental studies (combined N = 1,008), the authors (1) establish that country stereotypes of warmth—but not of competence—can buffer condemning emotions and retaliatory intent toward an offending company. They further (2) reveal the psychological mechanism of greed attributions that underlies this bias and (3) identify the type of crisis as a crucial contingency factor that facilitates (corporate ability crisis) or suppresses (corporate value crisis) the buffering effect of country warmth.

Selfish or altruistic? The influence of thinking styles and stereotypes on moral decision-making

This study aimed to explore the influence of individual thinking styles and stereotypes on moral decision-making. 114 participants completed the Rational-Experiential Inventory-40, after which they performed a moral decision-making task in which participants were asked to decide whether to sacrifice their self-interest to help the protagonists in the moral dilemmas. The results showed that: (1) Experiential participants were more likely to make altruistic moral decisions as compared to Rational participants. (2) Participants were more willing to help the protagonists who had both high-warmth and high-competence, and were less willing to help the protagonists with both low-warmth and low-competence. (3) The moral decisions of the rational participants were influenced by stereotypes of both warmth and competence, while the experiential participants were affected only by the stereotypes of warmth. These results suggest that rational participants may show preference towards protagonists with different levels of both warmth and competence during moral decision-making, and that experiential participants may only prefer to help protagonists with high levels of warmth. This study provides a reference point from which we might further explore the influencing factors of moral decision-making, and helps in understanding how people might make more appropriate decisions in the face of similar scenarios.

From country stereotypes to country emotions to intentions to visit a country: implications for a country as a destination brand

PurposeThis paper aims to draw from the stereotype content model (SCM) to investigate the mediating role of country-triggered emotions on the relationship between country stereotypes and intentions to visit a country as well as the boundary conditions under which such mediation occurs.Design/methodology/approachTwo-hundred and eighty-three consumers participated in a between-subjects, Web-based study conducted in Hungary. Participants were randomly exposed to one out of six countries that are among the most popular tourist destinations for Hungarian consumers. Moderated-mediation analysis was performed to test the research hypotheses.FindingsCountry stereotypes of competence and warmth positively influence country-related emotions of admiration which, subsequently, transfer to consumer intentions to visit the focal country as a tourism destination. This mediation is moderated by consumers’ extraversion, such that intentions to visit are greater for highly extraverted consumers.Research limitations/implicationsPolicymakers should take into consideration both the country stereotype and related emotions triggered by this stereotype when developing and promoting the country destination brand. Practitioners should also consider extraversion as a potential personality-based segmentation and targeting variable when communicating a country as a destination brand.Originality/valueThis study delineates the link between country stereotype and affective responses to this stereotype, thus further adding to our understanding of the role that emotions play in determining tourism behavior. It also highlights the role of the personality trait of extraversion as a moderating influence on the stereotype-emotions-visit intentions link.

Hiring discrimination against highly competent candidates: An investigation of competence and warmth stereotypes, and cooperative/competitive mindsets

Hiring discrimination against highly competent candidates: An investigation of competence and warmth stereotypes, and cooperative/competitive mindsets

National Stereotypes as Antecedents of Country-of-Origin Image: The Role of the Stereotype Content Model

The authors propose a model explaining the antecedents of country of origin evaluations using the stereotype content model. Specifically, we propose a direct relationship between competence stereotypes and the micro and macro image of a country. We also show how perceived warmth can affect product outcomes directly and indirectly through macro image contrary to current findings. This paper contributes to the literature by showing the context in which the warmth stereotypes acts in situations where the country is perceived as having low warmth. We also show how warmth stereotype can be used in tourism through destination receptivity.

The Effects of Speaker Group Membership and Stereotypes on Responses to Accumulated Underaccommodation

This study explored the role of social group membership and stereotypes in evaluating accumulated underaccommodation (i.e., repeated, insufficiently adjusted communication). Participants ( N = 229) engaged in three tasks in which they received underaccommodative instructions from another individual, ostensibly a young adult or an older adult. Consistent with hypotheses, speakers’ social group membership predicted stereotype content (with older adults stereotyped as warmer and more competent); warmth (but not competence) stereotypes, in turn, predicted inferred motive (directly) and perceived accommodation (indirectly) for the initial task, which in turn predicted ratings for subsequent tasks. Group membership also affected overall speaker evaluations.

Perceived intergroup competition and adolescents’ behavioural intentions toward minorities: the role of threat, stereotypes and emotions

The main purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of perceived intergroup competition on majority adolescents’ behavioural intentions toward two relevant immigrant groups in the Spanish context, Ecuadorians and Moroccans. We proposed an integrative path model in which perceived intergroup competition led to perception of outgroup threat, which in turn affected warmth stereotypes (morality and sociability). Perceived warmth further fostered positive and negative emotions, which in turn predicted facilitative and harmful interpersonal behavioural tendencies. Following a between subject design, participants (N = 231, Mage = 15.39, SD = 1.09) evaluated Moroccans (n = 114) or Ecuadorians (n = 117) on the examined variables. Results indicate that Ecuadorians were perceived as more moral and sociable and elicited less negative emotions than Moroccans. The model had a good fit for both groups. Perceived intergroup competition predicted perceived outgroup threat which, in turn, fostered perceived morality and sociability. Only perceived morality predicted both positive and negative emotions, whereas sociability elicited only positive emotions. Finally, facilitation intentions were predicted by both positive and negative emotions, while harm intentions were triggered only by negative ones. Results highlight the distinctive role of morality for intergroup relations during adolescence and extend previous literature regarding perceived intergroup competition, stereotype content, emotions and perceived outgroup threat.

English Canadians’ cultural stereotypes of ethnic minority groups: Implications of stereotype content for acculturation ideologies and immigration attitudes

This study examined English Canadians’ stereotypes concerning eight ethnic minority groups and the implications of these stereotypes for ideologies regarding the acculturation of those ethnic groups in Canadian society as well as attitudes regarding immigration to Canada more generally. Questionnaires were collected from 129 English-speaking European Canadians measuring stereotypes and acculturation ideologies toward each of the eight ethnic minority groups, and a general immigration attitudes measure. Results indicated that ethnic minority groups cluster together based on varying degrees of competence and warmth stereotypes, with some groups being perceived ambivalently. Specifically, Chinese and French Canadians were perceived as high in competence and moderate in warmth, but the converse was true for Jamaicans and Filipinos. East Indians, Pakistanis, and Somalis were perceived as moderate and Aboriginal Canadians as low in warmth and competence. Perceived normative beliefs about status and competition were associated with both competence and warmth of the ethnic groups. Stronger perceived competence of and lower perceived competition from the ethnic groups were directly associated with greater support of immigration and indirectly associated with stronger orientation towards integration of ethnic minorities into Canadian society. The results are discussed with regards to better understanding the intricacies of stereotype content, as well as the importance of stereotypes in encouraging integration of ethnic minorities in multicultural societies.

Warmth and competence predict overoptimistic beliefs for out-group but not in-group members.

People can be overly optimistic not only about their own future but also for the people with whom they identify. Furthermore, interpersonal perception generally forms along two universal dimensions, i.e. warmth and competence. In this study, we created four fictional characters that would map onto each quadrant of the two-dimensional space of warmth and competence, i.e. one in-group member (high on both warmth and competence) and three out-group members (high warmth, low competence; high competence, low warmth; low on both warmth and competence). We then asked respondents to assess the likelihood of each character experiencing a series of identical desirable and undesirable events in order to uncover potential optimistic biases. Our study had two goals. First, we wanted to balance the target desirable and undesirable events on four key characteristics, i.e. event frequency, controllability, emotional intensity and personal experience with the event. Second, we wanted to investigate whether stereotypes of warmth and competence could influence the respondents’ likelihood estimates for each character. We show that respondents manifested a strong desirability bias, expecting more desirable than undesirable events for the in-group member and the reverse pattern for the extreme out-group member. More important, we show that, within desirable and undesirable events, respondents anchored their judgments for the in-group member on their personal experience with the target events, further revealing an egocentric bias, but turned to stereotypical knowledge in the form of warmth and competence to judge out-group members. Implications for both social perception and optimism research are discussed.

Stereotype content and morality: How competence and warmth arise from morally significant interactions.

Stereotypes about many groups fall along two dimensions, one relating to agency/competence and the other morality/warmth. This paper integrates research and theory on stereotype contents and mind perception to explore how stereotypes of competence and warmth are linked to perceptions of moral agency and patiency. Competence identifies the moral agent, and warmth both identifies the moral patient and describes the moral valence of the interaction. In two experimental tests, a simple animated film showing circles and squares interacting in various ways elicited predicted competence and warmth stereotypes that tracked perceived moral valence. Integrating stereotype contents and mind perception literatures offers new ways to think about the origins, functions, and dynamics between dimensions of stereotype content.

Effects of country-of-origin stereotypes on consumer responses to product-harm crises

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate “how” and “when” the stereotypes of competence and warmth, that are evoked by a foreign company’s country-of-origin (COO), affect blame attributions and/or attitudes toward a company’s products when a company is involved in a product-harm crisis.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 (n=883) analyzes the psychological mechanisms through which perceived COO competence and warmth differently affect blame attributions and evaluative responses. Study 2 (n=1,640) replicates Study 1’s findings, and it also investigates how consumer ethnocentrism, animosity toward a country, and product category characteristics moderate the hypothesized COO’s effects.FindingsCOO competence leads to more favorable attitudes toward the involved company’s products. This effect increases when the company sells high-involvement or utilitarian products. COO warmth leads to more favorable attitudes toward the involved company’s products directly as well as indirectly by diminishing blame attributions. These effects increase when consumers are highly ethnocentric, or the animosity toward a foreign country is high.Originality/valueThis paper frames the investigation of COO stereotypes in a new theoretical and empirical setting, specifically, a product-harm crisis. It demonstrates that consumers differently evaluate a potential wrongdoing company and its harmful products in a product-harm crisis based on their perceptions of a company’s COO competence and warmth. Finally, it defines the moderating effects of individual, consumer-country-related and product characteristics on the hypothesized COO effects.

The Stereotype Content of Sexual Orientation

The stereotype content model provides a powerful tool to examine influential societal stereotypes associated with social groups. We theorize how stereotypes of gender, sexuality, and a group’s status in society combine to influence societal views of sexual orientation groups—placing particular emphasis on stereotypes of warmth and competence. In two survey experiments, we collect quantitative measures of stereotype content and open-response items on the stereotypes of bisexual individuals. We predict—and find—that gay men and lesbian women face disadvantaging stereotypes; bisexual men and women, however, face the most severely negative stereotypes of any sexual orientation group—with aggregate judgments of low warmth and competence. In the second study, using a diverse sample, we show that stereotypes about sexual orientation groups are largely culturally consensual. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of comparative approaches that consider both advantaged and disadvantaged groups to fully contextualize stereotypes of minority groups.

Intergenerational Contact Predicts Attitudes Toward Older Adults Through Inclusion of the Outgroup in the Self.

With our rapidly aging population, it is critical to understand biases toward older people and what can be done to reduce ageism. Intergenerational contact can improve attitudes towards older people, but the effect of inclusion of outgroups in the self (IOS) in the context of intergenerational contact remains unexplored. In addition, stereotypes of warmth and incompetence may be affected differently by contact experiences and have different roles in effecting change in ageist attitudes. In this study, we modeled the relationships between intergenerational contact, IOS, and stereotypes of warmth and incompetence in predicting attitudes towards older adults in a young community sample (n = 302; 18-30-year olds). We found that positive contact with one older adult reduced incompetence stereotypes both directly and through an increase in IOS, and both the increase in IOS and the decrease in incompetence stereotypes predicted better attitudes towards older adults. Incompetence stereotypes were a stronger predictor of age-related attitudes than warmth stereotypes. This suggests that interventions aimed at improving ageist attitudes through intergenerational contact should focus primarily on disconfirming incompetence stereotypes instead of merely increasing warmth perceptions, which could be done in part by increasing cognitive overlap with older adults.