Dominant-group stereotypes shift from categorical to probabilistic as ideology moves from paternalism to individualism

Evidence

The specific configuration and character of the intergroup attitudes expressed by dominant groups is thus altered under different ideological regimes. The reshaping of stereotypes illustrates this point. Because paternalism builds on the reification of group differences, it calls for categorical stereotypes. Subordinates are stereotyped as having – and praised for exhibiting – positive, communal traits that are appropriate to their subservient position (such as being supportive, nurturing, loyal, compliant, deferential). … When the ideological regime shifts to dissent and individualism, dominants’ stereotypes about subordinates are gradually reshaped. The embedded message changes from “Vive la différence!” to “Too bad you aren’t more like us – try harder.” Negative attributions become more common, as restive subordinates must be reminded that they lack the agentic traits required to support their demands for equality, and, besides, complaining subordinates who fail to live up to the communal attributes demanded of them are no longer as likeable as they once were. What used to be a latent fear about loss of control (prompting watchful assertions about the emotional volatility or violence-propensity of subordinates) is sharpened and crystallized when subordinates have manifestly become less docile. At the same time, dominants simultaneously shed categorical attributions: rigid stereotypes are an embarrassment to a political defense that hinges on the assertion of individual rights. Dominants slip into a probabilistic style of attribution that is consistent with individualism. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 675

Categorization

• SEED: Angle for an essay on how political rhetoric about ‘equality’ quietly retains the same hierarchy — the stereotype merely changes form from ‘different’ to ‘deficient.’
• XREF: Connects to the paternalism vs. competition taxonomy in Jackman’s work and to Rudman’s own chapters on benevolent sexism in this same volume. — connects to: Shift from welfare paternalism to racial modernism produced a new militant generation — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 607; Paternalistic low-competence, high-warmth stereotypes predate modern egalitarian norms — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 34; the MOC “The Wound of the Label: When Knowing Someone Becomes a Way of Erasing Them” (+1 more)