Date of Award

Summer 8-24-2004

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

First Advisor

E. Paige Lloyd

Second Advisor

Max Weisbuch

Third Advisor

Heidi Vuletich

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Gender, Identity intersections, Impression formation, Race, Stereotypes

Abstract

Despite clear evidence that stereotypes of women and Black individuals are opposing, little is known about how such identity-relevant stereotypes are applied to Black women. The lens-based account of intersectional stereotyping (Petsko & Bodenhausen, 2020) suggests that judgments of an individual Black woman should shift toward (i.e., assimilate to) stereotypes of whichever identity “lens” (gender, race, or their intersection) is salient. This dissertation builds on the lens-based account by considering whether identity lens salience can lead judgments of an individual Black woman to assimilate or contrast to identity-relevant stereotypes, and whether different ways of inducing identity lens salience are more likely to lead assimilation or contrast to identity relevant stereotypes. The first chapter presents theoretical background on the lens-based account and assimilation and contrast processes to generate novel theorizing. The following chapters test theorizing in three experiments. Studies 1 and 2 manipulated identity accessibility with two different evidence manipulations. I found that manipulations of identity accessibility can yield assimilation (Study 1) or contrast (Study 2) to stereotypes of an accessible identity based on whether the manipulation induces a focus on similarities or differences, respectively. Study 3 manipulated identity distinctiveness by showing perceivers a group where one identity was underrepresented and manipulated perceiver focus by instructing perceivers to focus either on one individual in the group (a Black woman) or on the collective group. This study failed to find clear evidence that these manipulations influenced the likelihood of assimilation versus contrast to stereotypes of the distinctive identity. The final chapter discusses the novel theorizing and evidence of the three studies presented herein to generate theoretical and practical directions forward for research aimed at understanding how perceivers form impressions at the intersection of multiple identities. Though more research is needed, the current work provides critical insight into when Black women might be judged in line with or in opposition to stereotypes of their gender and race.

Copyright Date

8-2024

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Gina A. Paganini

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

155 pgs

File Size

2.2 MB

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