title: The spontaneous formation of stereotypes via cumulative cultural evolution.
abstract: All people share knowledge of cultural stereotypes of social groups--but what are the origins of these stereotypes? We examined whether stereotypes form spontaneously as information is repeatedly passed from person to person. As information about novel social targets was passed down a chain of individuals, what initially began as a set of random associations evolved into a system that was simplified and categorically structured. Over time, novel stereotypes emerged that not only were increasingly learnable but also allowed generalizations to be made about previously unseen social targets. By illuminating how cognitive and social factors influence how stereotypes form and change, these findings show how stereotypes might naturally evolve or be manipulated.
authors: School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen doug.martin@abdn.ac.uk.
authors: Douglas
authors: D
authors: Martin
authors: School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen.
authors: Jacqui
authors: J
authors: Hutchison
authors: School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen.
authors: Gillian
authors: G
authors: Slessor
authors: School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen.
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Urquhart
authors: Division of Psychology, Abertay University.
authors: Sheila J
authors: SJ
authors: Cunningham
authors: School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh.
authors: Kenny
authors: K
authors: Smith
mesh_terms: D003210:Concept Formation; D003468:Cultural Evolution; D006801:Humans; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping
keywords: cultural evolution; person perception; social cognition; stereotype formation; stereotypes