Negative stereotypes block access to desirable roles because those roles demand positive attributes.

Evidence

The role-incongruity analysis of prejudice encompasses Allport’s emphasis on negative attitudes toward groups by acknowledging that the overall evaluative content of a group’s stereotype can restrict the social roles for which group members are thought to be qualified. Social roles that offer prestige, status, income, love, and other outcomes will require many positive attributes; consequently, group stereotypes that are especially negative overall hinder access to a wide range of desirable roles because role-relevant positive attributes are absent from the stereotype. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 213

Categorization

• DEFINE: Articulates the mechanism of role-incongruity prejudice: evaluatively negative stereotypes disqualify groups from prestige-bearing roles.