Seeing groups as more different than they are is stereotypic inaccuracy

Evidence

Initially one can define two ways in which perceived distributions may depart from the actual distributions. First, one may overestimate or underestimate the magnitude of the actual mean differences between the two distributions: one may see the groups as more different or less different on average than they actually are along the continuum. If the perceiver judges that there is a greater difference than there actually is between the two groups, this can be labeled as stereotypic inaccuracy: overestimating the degree to which groups differ along a stereotypic dimension on which there is in fact a mean difference between them. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 856

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines stereotypic inaccuracy as overestimating the mean difference between groups on a dimension where a real difference exists.