Superior Pattern Detectors Efficiently Learn, Activate, Apply, and Update Social Stereotypes

Superior cognitive abilities are generally associated with positive outcomes such as academic achievement and social mobility. Here, we explore the darker side of cognitive ability, highlighting robust links between pattern detection and stereotyping. Across 6 studies, we find that superior pattern...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. General 2018-02, Vol.147 (2), p.209-227
Main Authors: Lick, David J., Alter, Adam L., Freeman, Jonathan B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Cognitive Ability
Female
Human
Male
Pattern Recognition (Cognitive Process)
Social Cognition
Stereotyped Attitudes
Stereotypes
Test Construction
Upward mobility
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Summary:Superior cognitive abilities are generally associated with positive outcomes such as academic achievement and social mobility. Here, we explore the darker side of cognitive ability, highlighting robust links between pattern detection and stereotyping. Across 6 studies, we find that superior pattern detectors efficiently learn and use stereotypes about social groups. This pattern holds across explicit (Studies 1 and 2), implicit (Studies 2 and 4), and behavioral measures of stereotyping (Study 3). We also find that superior pattern detectors readily update their stereotypes when confronted with new information (Study 5), making them particularly susceptible to counterstereotype training (Study 6). Pattern detection skills therefore equip people to act as naïve empiricists who calibrate their stereotypes to match incoming information. These findings highlight novel effects of individual aptitudes on social-cognitive processes.
ISSN:0096-3445
1939-2222
DOI:10.1037/xge0000349