The Use of Stereotypes and Individuating Information in Political Person Perception

• Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 529 - 542
• Main Authors: Crawford, Jarret T., Jussim, Lee, Madon, Stephanie, Cain, Thomas R., Stevens, Sean T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2011; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Communication; Female; Humans; Individuation; Information; Judgment; Judgments; Male; Membership; Models, Psychological; Person perception; Personality; Policy; Political Ideologies; Political ideology; Politics; Prediction; Primacy; Social Perception; Stereotyped Behavior; Stereotypes; Stereotyping; Young Adult; political psychology; individuating information; stereotypes; person perception; impression formation
• ISSN: 0146-1672; 1552-7433
• DOI: 10.1177/0146167211399473

This article introduces the political person perception model, which identifies conditions under which perceivers rely on stereotypes (party membership), individuating information (issue position), or both in political person perception. Three studies supported the model’s predictions. Study 1 showed that perceivers gave primacy to target information that was narrowly relevant to a judgment, whether that information was stereotypic or individuating. Study 2 found that perceivers relied exclusively on individuating information when it was narrowly relevant to the judgment and relied on both stereotype and individuating information when individuating information was not narrowly relevant to the judgment but did imply a political ideology. Study 3 replicated these findings in a more ecologically valid context and showed that people relied on party information in the absence of narrowly relevant policy positions and when individuating information did not imply a political ideology. Implications for political person perception and theories of stereotyping are discussed.