Papers by Jeffrey Sherman
Annual Review of Psychology, 1996
▪ The stereotyping literature within psychology has grown considerably over the past decade. In... more ▪ The stereotyping literature within psychology has grown considerably over the past decade. In large part, this growth can be attributed to progress in understanding the individual mechanisms that give rise to stereotypic thinking. In the current review, the recent psychological literature on stereotypes is reviewed, with particular emphasis given to the cognitive and motivational factors that contribute to stereotype formation, maintenance, application, and change. In addition, the context-dependent function of stereotypes is highlighted, as are the representational issues that various models of stereotypes imply.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Mar 1, 2010
Placing outgroup members in positive social contexts can reduce implicit bias. Different contexts... more Placing outgroup members in positive social contexts can reduce implicit bias. Different contexts may activate different associations of the group. Alternatively, contexts may act as cues for inhibiting bias. We applied the Quad model to address these possibilities. We also examined how motivation moderates these effects. Participants completed a Black-White evaluative priming task with primes presented in positive versus negative contexts and a measure of motivation to control prejudice. Results showed less implicit bias in positive versus negative contexts and that this effect was stronger among highly motivated participants. Modeling revealed that these effects were related to inhibition of biased associations, but not to changing the associations that were activated. Implications for prejudice reduction are discussed.
European Journal of Social Psychology, May 27, 2022
People often form impressions of others in contexts where both relatively static demographic cues... more People often form impressions of others in contexts where both relatively static demographic cues (e.g., age, race, gender) and situationally flexible, dynamic cues (e.g., emotion expressions) are available. We examined whether and how attending to gender (male, female) versus emotion expression (neutral, smiling) affects threat-based person impressions. In three experiments, we heightened the salience of either gender categories or emotion categories in a sequential priming task. Category salience consistently moderated the use of both categories in threat impressions. The effect of gender (emotion) categories was stronger when attention was directed to gender (emotion) than when attention was directed to emotion (gender); however, category salience did not eliminate the use of either category. Implications for models of person construal and bias in person impressions are discussed.
Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2012
Our field has witnessed a rapid increase in the appeal and prevalence of the short report format ... more Our field has witnessed a rapid increase in the appeal and prevalence of the short report format over the last two decades. In this article, we discuss both the benefits and drawbacks of the trend toward shorter and faster publications. Although the short report format can help us cope with ever-increasing time constraints; ease the burden on hiring, promotion, and tenure committees; speed the publication of our findings; and promote the dissemination of research beyond the borders of our discipline, it can also exacerbate problems with publication bias and selective reporting, decrease theoretical integration within our science, and risk overemphasizing colorful effects relative to basic processes. In the face of these challenges, we believe it is essential to find ways to preserve the advantages of the short-and-fast approach while minimizing its disadvantages and while acknowledging the complementary and critical importance of longer articles in advancing the field.
Journal of Research in Personality, Apr 1, 2009
Oxford University Press eBooks, Mar 23, 2010
Processes that permit control over automatic impulses are critical to a range of goal-directed be... more Processes that permit control over automatic impulses are critical to a range of goal-directed behaviors. Th is chapter examines the role of self-control in implicit attitudes. It is widely assumed that implicit attitude measures refl ect the automatic activation of stored associations, whose expression cannot be altered by controlled processes. We review research from the Quad model (Sherman et al., 2008) to highlight the importance of two self-control processes in determining the infl uence of automatically activated associations. Th e fi ndings of this research indicate that processes relating to detecting appropriate responses and overcoming associations contribute to performance on implicit attitude measures. Th ese two processes work together to enable self-control of automatic associations; one process detects that control is needed, and the other process overcomes the associations to permit correct behavior. Implications for understanding self-control dilemmas are discussed.
Psychological Inquiry, Jan 2, 2021
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2009
The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and s... more The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and social psychology journals to examine the practice of psychological science in their field. Findings demonstrate that (a) although personality and social researchers tend to use many of the same approaches, methods, and procedures, they nonetheless show average differences in each of these domains, as well as in their overarching theoretical aims and perspectives; (b) these average differences largely conform to social and personality researchers' stereotypes about each subgroup; (c) despite their methodological and philosophical differences, the 2 subgroups study many of the same research topics; and (d) the structure of social-personality research practices can be characterized as having 2 independent factors, which closely correspond to L. J. Cronbach's (1957) correlational and experimental "streams of research.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Mar 1, 2013
► Conscious and unconscious thought invoke both intuitive and rule-based processing. ► Process di... more ► Conscious and unconscious thought invoke both intuitive and rule-based processing. ► Process dissociation can be used to independently measure the underlying processes. ► Conscious and unconscious thought invoke the same degree of intuitive processing. ► Conscious thought invokes more rule-based processing than unconscious thought. ► Tasks and manipulations are not process-pure.
Researchers studying social identity and intergroup relations have traditionally approached group... more Researchers studying social identity and intergroup relations have traditionally approached group behavior as an interaction between the individual, the group, and the social context in which the individual and group are embedded. is approach has been quite fruitful, as evidenced by the proliferation of theories and studies over the last several decades that have identi ed the psychological and sociocontextual features that are likely to give rise to particular group behaviors (e.g., in-group bias, discrimination, intergroup hostility). However, these theories are based largely on how individuals are predicted to respond and behave under particular circumstances, o en without explicit consideration of the interdependence among individuals or the group-level outcomes that may emerge as a result of the interactions among individual actors. is approach is similar to a tra c engineer attempting to understand tra c patterns by examining the motivations and behaviors of individual drivers. Individual-level theories may tell the engineer that drivers attempt to maximize the speed of their car and avoid erratic fellow drivers. But understanding why tra c jams occur requires consideration of how the behavior of one driver a ects the behavior of multiple other drivers and how these behaviors unfold over time. In this chapter, we echo the sentiment of other researchers
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Mar 1, 2013
We examined how viewing diverse and homogenous social contexts affects implicit bias. ► Racially ... more We examined how viewing diverse and homogenous social contexts affects implicit bias. ► Racially diverse contexts decrease bias and homogenous contexts increase bias. ► Decreases in bias generalized to situations in which targets were seen in isolation. ► Diverse contexts did not decrease bias toward targets never seen in diverse contexts. ► Quad modeling revealed effects were related to changes in automatic associations.
Psychological Inquiry, Jan 2, 2021
Failures to replicate high-profile priming effects have raised questions about the reliability of... more Failures to replicate high-profile priming effects have raised questions about the reliability of socalled "social priming" phenomena. However, not only are many of the relevant studies not particularly social in nature, but other robust priming effects that are clearly social in nature do not count as social priming. Most importantly, the focus on the supposedly social aspect of the work has obscured factors that help to account for the relative reliability of priming effects. Here, we examine the construct of social priming, describe some simple demonstrations on the role of experimental design in priming reproducibility, and discuss future avenues for building a better understanding of priming. We conclude that the term "social priming" should be laid to rest, and that it is time to move past arguments about the reliability of specific effects and shift our energy to building theories that help us better understand the mechanisms underlying priming effects.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, Aug 5, 2013
Performance on implicit attitude measures is influenced both by the nature of activated evaluativ... more Performance on implicit attitude measures is influenced both by the nature of activated evaluative associations and by people's ability to regulate those associations as they respond. One consequence is that identical implicit attitude scores may conceal different underlying processes. This study demonstrated this phenomenon and also shed light on the nature of age differences in antiaging bias on implicit attitude measures. Although younger and older participants demonstrated equivalent levels of antiaging bias on an Implicit Association Test (IAT), application of the Quad model showed that antiold associations were less activated among older than younger adults, but that older adults were less able to overcome these associations in performing the task. Thus, the lack of age differences in IAT performance concealed differences in both underlying evaluative associations and the ability to control those associations. These findings have important implications for the measurement and interpretation of implicit attitudes.
Social Cognition, Jun 1, 2004
People tend to make spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) when confronted with the behavior of othe... more People tend to make spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) when confronted with the behavior of others. Recent research has demonstrated that these STIs may be moderated by contextual cues such as stereotypic category labels. The central aim of the current research was to investigate the role of cognitive resources in this process. Two experiments were performed in which STIs were measured using a probe recognition paradigm under low or high cognitive load. Under high cognitive load, STIs were less likely for stereotype-inconsistent than stereotype-consistent behaviors. Compared to baseline, STIs for inconsistent behaviors were less strong under high cognitive load. Under low-load, no differences in STIs as a function of stereotypes were found. These findings support the idea that stereotypes are especially likely to affect STIs when resources are low. Spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) are said to occur "when attending to another person's behavior produces a trait inference in the absence of our explicit intention to infer traits or form an impression of that person" (Uleman, Newman, & Moskowitz, 1996, p. 211). For instance, when you observe someone carrying an elderly woman's groceries across the
Personality and Social Psychology Review, Feb 1, 1998
In recent years there has been a veritable explosion of research activity devoted to understandin... more In recent years there has been a veritable explosion of research activity devoted to understanding the nature and function of social stereotyping. A great deal of this work suggests that stereotypes are easily activated and applied in the context of social judgment and behavior. Indeed, the ease with which stereotypes appear to be activated has encouraged some to sound cautionary notes regarding the unchecked use of stereotypes. In response, several researchers have begun to explore the processes and mechanisms involved in intentional efforts to avoid or control the pernicious effects of stereotypes. At present, there is considerable debate concerning the efficacy of efforts to control stereotype activation and use. Some research suggests that such intentional control is possible even if difficult. Other research suggests that efforts at control may backfire, producing unintended heightened activation and use of stereotypes. Addressing this controversy holds considerable promise for improving our theoretical analysis of both the activation and control of stereotypes. Institute of Mental Health Grants lR29MH56536 to Margo J. Monteith and 55037 to Jeffrey W. Sherman. We thank Steven J. Sherman for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. Requests for reprints should be sent to
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2009
Previous research suggests that automatically activated bias manifests itself in behavior that ca... more Previous research suggests that automatically activated bias manifests itself in behavior that can jeopardize the quality of intergroup interactions. However, regulation of automatic associations has the potential to attenuate their influence on intergroup interaction. To test this possibility, 46 non-Muslim White participants interacted with a Muslim confederate and completed an implicit measure of attitudes toward Muslims. The Quadruple Process model [
Social Cognition, Dec 1, 2010
Failures to replicate high-profile priming effects have raised questions about the reliability of... more Failures to replicate high-profile priming effects have raised questions about the reliability of priming phenomena. Studies at the discussion's center, labeled "social priming," have been interpreted as a specific indictment of priming that is social in nature. However, "social priming" differs from other priming effects in multiple ways. The present research examines one important difference: whether effects have been demonstrated with within-or betweensubjects experimental designs. To examine the significance of this feature, we assess the reliability of four well-known priming effects from the cognitive and social psychological literatures using both between-and within-subjects designs and analyses. All four priming effects are reliable when tested using a within-subjects approach. In contrast, only one priming effect reaches that statistical threshold when using a between-subjects approach. This demonstration serves as a salient illustration of the underappreciated importance of experimental design for statistical power, generally, and for the reliability of priming effects, specifically.
European Psychologist, Jul 1, 2019
In increasingly diverse societies, discrimination against social groups and their members continu... more In increasingly diverse societies, discrimination against social groups and their members continues to be a public and political concern. Research has addressed three basic cognitive processes that precede discrimination: categorization, stereotype/prejudice activation, and stereotype/prejudice application, suggesting that these processes occur in an automatic fashion. However, there are multiple components of automaticity, including unawareness, efficiency, unintentionality, and uncontrollability. Most of the previous research implies that these components of automaticity converge with respect to cognitive antecedents of discrimination. Here, we review evidence on the distinct components of automaticity in order to assess whether (a) categorization, (b) stereotype/prejudice activation, and (c) stereotype/prejudice application occur (1) without awareness, (2) efficiently, and (3) goal-independently. We highlight evidence indicating convergence or divergence of the automaticity components during each of the processing stages. This analysis provides readers with an up-to-date review that helps to evaluate whether a multi-component approach to automaticity is of additional benefit in aggregating knowledge about the cognitive antecedents of discrimination. We discuss open issues and avenues for future research.
Social Cognition, Apr 1, 2004
This experiment tested two key components of the Encoding Flexibility Model of stereotyping. Resu... more This experiment tested two key components of the Encoding Flexibility Model of stereotyping. Results demonstrated that a cognitive load increased the attention paid to stereotype-inconsistent information, and decreased the attention paid to stereotype-consistent information. Cognitive load also enhanced the perceptual encoding of inconsistent information while diminishing the perceptual encoding of consistent information. Implications of these results for the role of efficiency and the interaction of motivation and ability in social cognition are discussed.
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Papers by Jeffrey Sherman