Stereotypes

We present a model of stereotypes based on Kahneman and Tversky’s representativeness heuristic. A decision maker assesses a target group by overweighting its representative types, defined as the types that occur more frequently in that group than in a baseline reference group. Stereotypes formed thi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Quarterly journal of economics 2016-11, Vol.131 (4), p.1753-1794
Main Authors: Bordalo, Pedro, Coffman, Katherine, Gennaioli, Nicola, Shleifer, Andrei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Belief & doubt
Bildungsniveau
Entscheidung
Geschlecht
Heuristic
Heuristics
Mathematik
Soziale Gruppe
Stereotyp
Stereotypes
Studies
Theorie
Unsicherheit
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Summary:We present a model of stereotypes based on Kahneman and Tversky’s representativeness heuristic. A decision maker assesses a target group by overweighting its representative types, defined as the types that occur more frequently in that group than in a baseline reference group. Stereotypes formed this way contain a “kernel of truth”: they are rooted in true differences between groups. Because stereotypes focus on differences, they cause belief distortions, particularly when groups are similar. Stereotypes are also context dependent: beliefs about a group depend on the characteristics of the reference group. In line with our predictions, beliefs in the lab about abstract groups and beliefs in the field about political groups are context dependent and distorted in the direction of representative types.
ISSN:0033-5533
1531-4650
1531-4650
DOI:10.1093/qje/qjw029