Perceived agency correlates with entitativity more strongly than homogeneity or essence does

Evidence

We know of very little research investigating the role of a group’s agency in the perception of its entitativity. In one of the early writings on how groups are perceived to be groups, Abelson, Dasgupta, Park, and Banaji (1998) advanced the argument that group activity both implies and is implied by group entitativity. That is, groups that are active, behaving in coordinated fashion, and pursuing shared goals are seen as entitative, and in turn, if a group is believed to be high in entitativity, it is perceived as being active and agentic. Spencer-Rogers, Hamilton, and Sherman (2007, Study 2) investigated the interrelations among several group-relevant constructs (entitativity, homogeneity, essence, role differentiation, agency, and stereotyping) in people’s judgments of both task groups and social categories. All of these variables were significantly correlated with entitativity, but the highest correlations (for both task groups and social categories) were between agency and entitativity. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 244

Spencer-Rogers, Hamilton, and Sherman (2007, Study 2) investigated the interrelations among several group-relevant constructs (entitativity, homogeneity, essence, role differentiation, agency, and stereotyping) in people’s judgments of both task groups and social categories. All of these variables were significantly correlated with entitativity, but the highest correlations (for both task groups and social categories) were between agency and entitativity. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 244

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why does agency outrank homogeneity across BOTH task groups and social categories? The paradox is that mere demographic categories (sex, race) are not agentic actors, yet agency still correlated highest — worth chasing the mechanism.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 244