Stereotypes function as justificatory and screening devices, not mere category labels.

Evidence

Although he stressed categorization processes, Allport insisted that “a stereotype is not identical with a category; it is rather a fixed idea that accompanies the category” (1954/1979, p. 191). A stereotype is a belief system in which psychological characteristics are ascribed more or less indiscriminately to the members of a group. According to Allport, it “acts both as a justificatory device for categorical acceptance or rejection of a group, and as a screening or selective device to maintain simplicity in perception and in thinking” (p. 192). In this way, the categorization (or simplification) and justification functions are compatible and mutually reinforcing. “The fault,” as Allport pointed out, lies “not in any malicious intent” but in “culture-bound traditions” (p. 202). This is because people use stereotypes both to maximize cognitive efficiency and to explain and justify cultural and institutional forms of prejudice in which members of some groups are accepted while others are rejected ( Jost & Banaji, 1994). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1370

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes Allport’s stereotype as a ‘fixed idea accompanying the category’ from the category itself — the definitional core of the chapter.
• XREF: Directly relevant to vault’s prejudice-psychology thread on contact theory and stereotype function. — connects to: Stereotypes do not sour-grape away envied outgroup competence but justify their high status. — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 43