Perceived social status predicts competence stereotypes while competition predicts perceived coldness

Evidence

Out-groups are perceived as competent to the extent that they are perceived as powerful and high status or as incompetent to the extent that they are perceived as powerless and low status; out-groups are seen as relatively warm and nice to the extent that they are perceived as not competing with the mainstream in-group. — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 140

A second study examined social structure correlates of stereotypic competence and warmth, with the same groups rated on the single traits of competence and likability (for warmth) along with the hypothesized social structural correlates, status and competition. Perceived status did predict perceived competence, and perceived competition predicted perceived (lack of) warmth. — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 67

These data, from nine survey samples, support our hypotheses regarding stereotype content. Conducted on a variety of samples with a variety of group selection methods, the cluster analyses in Studies 1–3 found evidence for the dimensional hypothesis that perceived competence and warmth differentiate out-group stereotypes. These studies also support the mixed stereotypes hypothesis that many out-groups are viewed as competent but not warm or not competent but warm. They also found social structural correlates of perceived competence and warmth. That is, perceived social status predicted perceived competence, whereas perceived competition predicted perceived lack of warmth. — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 279

Categorization

• DEFINE: Crisply captures the core SCM prediction: status cues map onto competence, competition cues map onto warmth. This is the theoretical engine of the whole model.
• ADDENDUM: Provides the structural origin of the competence-in-scapegoat linkage; relevant to ‘On Sacrifice’ where group conflict and outgroup fear drive sacrificial dynamics.
• XREF: Connects to scapegoating literature (Girard) and to stereotype-content work on envy/harm clusters; the competence-as-threat bridge the reader is hunting for starts here. — connects to: Mixed stereotypes combine high competence with low warmth or vice versa — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 3; High-competence low-warmth outgroups share a stereotype of being too competent — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 30; Perceived status drives competence judgments while perceived competition strips warmth from envied outgroups — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 42 (+6 more)
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: does the status-competence / competition-warmth link imply that powerful outgroups are envied (hence scapegoated) precisely because they sit high on BOTH structural predictors?
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 140; Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 67; Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 279

Broader Connections

• Perceived status drives competence judgments while perceived competition strips warmth from envied outgroups #expands (0.95) — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 42
• Group status and competition determine which stereotype each outgroup receives #corroborates (0.90) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2365
• Perceived group competence is inferred directly from social status #expands (0.88) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 322
• Perceived warmth and competence of groups derive from their social structure and interdependence. #expands (0.85) — Susan T. Fiske, Stereotype Content, 18
• Status and competition jointly explain divergent forms of prejudice #expands (0.82) — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 307
• Stereotype content is predictable from material and social structural position #expands (0.80) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2943
• Perceived group power and competition, not negative traits, determine stereotyping and scapegoating #qualifies (0.78) — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 196