Perceived entitativity of a group shapes stereotyping and member interchangeability

Evidence

This recent work has established evidence for several important points: (a) groups vary considerably in the extent to which they are perceived as possessing entitativity (Lickel et al., 2000); (b) a variety of cues – for example, extent of interaction among group members, member similarity, importance of the group to members, shared goals – can and do serve as the basis for perceiving the “groupness” of groups (Castano, Yzerbyt, & Bourguignon, 2003; Lickel et al., 2000); (c) perceivers spontaneously recognize qualitatively different types of groups (e.g., groups based on friendship, task groups, social categories), and these group types differ in the extent to which they possess entitativity (Sherman, Castelli, & Hamilton, 2002); (d) the extent to which a group is perceived as being entitative has important implications for the generalization of qualities across individual group members and the perceived interchangeability of group members (Crawford, Sherman, & Hamilton, 2002); and (e) perceived group entitativity plays a central and mediating role in the stereotyping of groups (Hamilton, Sherman, & Rodgers, 2004). — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1378

This recent work has established evidence for several important points: (a) groups vary considerably in the extent to which they are perceived as possessing entitativity (Lickel et al., 2000); (b) a variety of cues – for example, extent of interaction among group members, member similarity, importance of the group to members, shared goals – can and do serve as the basis for perceiving the “groupness” of groups (Castano, Yzerbyt, & Bourguignon, 2003; Lickel et al., 2000); (c) perceivers spontaneously recognize qualitatively different types of groups (e.g., groups based on friendship, task groups, social categories), and these group types differ in the extent to which they possess entitativity (Sherman, Castelli, & Hamilton, 2002); (d) the extent to which a group is perceived as being entitative has important implications for the generalization of qualities across individual group members and the perceived interchangeability of group members (Crawford, Sherman, & Hamilton, 2002); and (e) perceived group entitativity plays a central and mediating role in the stereotyping of groups (Hamilton, Sherman, & Rodgers, 2004). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1378

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines entitativity concretely through its four cue types and five empirical consequences.
• QUESTION: Wonder what distinguishes friendship groups from social categories in entitativity scoring, and whether task-group entitativity is higher than category entitativity.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1378; , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1378