Irrepressible stereotypes

Social perceivers typically rely upon both categorical information (stereotypes) and individuating information when judging another person. While stereotyping is clearly adaptive in many circumstances, the social costs associated with stereotypes (prejudice and discrimination) often impel us to try to ignore, or at least correct for, our stereotypes. But are there limits to our ability to repress common stereotypes? In the present studies, subjects are asked to judge the likely career goals of gender-typical and -atypical male and female targets. Subjects could not completely disregard the targets' gender even under relatively ideal circumstances. The results also show that subjects did not place added emphasis on individuating information when categorical information had been discredited, suggesting that the categorical and individuating modes operate as parallel, independent judgmental strategies. The implications of these results for standard theories of social judgment and base rate utilization are discussed. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.