Memory preferentially recalls stereotype-consistent information under everyday cognitive load

Evidence

Memory serves as another mechanism helping categories to be “stubborn and resist change” (Allport, 1954/1979, p. 23). Although people certainly notice (and often re-fence) exceptions to the rule, memory operates with a stereotype-matching advantage under many conditions: when the expectancy is strong and prior, discrepancies are minimal or ambiguous, other tasks interrupt, and the observer operates under cognitive overload (see Rojahn & Pettigrew, 1992; Stangor & McMillan, 1992), all features of daily life. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 315

Categorization

• QUESTION: The ‘other tasks interrupt’ condition for stereotype-matching memory is interesting — worth chasing how divided attention specifically skews recall.
• corroborated: 4 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 315