title: Communicating stereotype-relevant information: is factual information subject to the same communication biases as fictional information?
abstract: Factual information is more frequently read and discussed than fictional information. However, research on the role of communication in shaping stereotypes has focused almost exclusively on fictional narratives. In Experiments 1 and 2 a newspaper article containing information about heroin users was communicated along chains of 4 people. No stereotype-consistency bias was observed. Instead, a greater proportion of stereotype-inconsistent information was communicated than was stereotype-consistent or -neutral information. Three further experiments investigated explanations for the difference between the communication of fictional and factual information. Experiment 3 ruled out the possibility that participants' beliefs about the validity of the information could influence the way that it is communicated. Experiments 4 and 5 divided information into concrete (a specific event or fact) or abstract (opinion). A stereotype-consistency bias emerged only for abstract information. In summary, linguistic abstraction moderates whether stereotype-consistency biases emerge in the communication of stereotype-relevant factual information.
authors.affiliation: University of Manchester.
authors.forename: Ruth L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D015982:Bias; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D012919:Social Behavior; D012933:Social Identification; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping