Stereotypes resist change through subtyping, so prejudice reduction should target emotions instead.

Evidence

Traditional approaches emphasized the need to change negative stereotypes to reduce prejudice. However, we now know stereotypes are resistant to change as a result of psychological mechanisms such as subtyping ( Johnston & Hewstone, 1992; Rothbart & John, 1985). Changing emotions present a different set of challenges. Drawing from the clinical literature and research on emotional self-regulation, researchers might apply such strategies as reappraisal, misattribution, or desensitization to the emotions involved in intergroup relations. Misattribution (being led to interpret one’s emotions and feelings as due to extrinsic causes, such as medication or the music that is playing) has been shown to reduce the effects of those feelings on judgments and behaviors. Desensitization, or systematic and repeated exposure to an object that arouses strong emotions, can diminish those emotions and their effects. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2289

Categorization

• XREF: Subtyping and stereotype resistance connect to Allport’s classic framing of prejudice as cognitively rigid plus the broader literature on belief perseverance. — connects to: Emotion reduction that enables reconciliation must follow actual structural change, not precede it. — Johanna Ray Vollhardt and Michelle Sinayobye Twali, Emotion-Based Reconciliation Requires…, 32
• SEED: Angle: misattribution research as a practical lever for reducing prejudice — ‘blame the music, not the minority’ — a counterintuitive intervention with policy relevance.