How Threat From Stereotype Disconfirmation Triggers Self-defense

Abstract

For prejudiced individuals with a strong prevention focus, information that disconfirms a stereotype is a threat to efficient self-regulation and triggers self-defense processes. It produces vigilance, agitation, and higher attention to both the disconfirming target and its background information, leading to better memory for the inconsistent information. We predicted that the effect would be enhanced as social relevance increases. As predicted, participants high in sexism and with a strong prevention focus better remembered gender-stereotype incongruent information, and this effect was accentuated when social relevance was high. These participants experienced agitation-related discomfort rather than dejection-related discomfort from the incongruency, further supporting the proposal that stereotype disconfirmation produced a self-defense threat response.