Allport reframed stereotypes from group descriptions into cognitive structures actively shaping thought

Evidence

One of Allport’s strongest legacies is that he focused social psychologists’ attention on the role of stereotypes, not merely as group descriptions (Lippmann, 1922), but also as cognitive structures that shape thoughts, feelings, and action. He observed that “categorization assimilates as much as it can to the cluster” (p. 20), and he considered the role of categorization on perceptions of both typicality and variability within groups, as well as in terms of between-group differences ( Judd & Park). — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 112

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 112
• XREF: connects to: Allport defined stereotypes as cognitive profile construction under data scarcity — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1316