Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Group Variability
The present investigation examined (a) the factors that determine whether a group is perceived as homogeneous or heterogeneous and (b) the effects of these perceptions on judgments of single group members. In Experiment 1, the antecedents of perceived group variability were explored. Male and female subjects were asked to form an impression of a group of 50 persons on the basis of information provided about their performance on a test of perceptual-motor skills. The gender of the group (all male vs. all female) and the variability of performance across its members varied over conditions. No support was found for a attention-based conceptualization in which differential focus on the gender of the target group mediates perceptions of group variability. Results were more consistent with a theoretical model which assumes that differences in perceived group variability are mediated by differences in subjects' familiarity with members of the group.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign