title: Tapping generalized essentialism to predict outgroup prejudices.
abstract: Psychological essentialism, the perception that groups possess inherent properties binding them and differentiating them from others, is theoretically relevant to predicting prejudice. Recent developments isolate two key dimensions: essentialistic entitativity (EE; groups as unitary, whole, entity-like) and essentialistic naturalness (EN; groups as fixed and immutable). We introduce a novel question: does tapping the covariance between EE and EN, rather than pitting them against each other, boost prejudice prediction? In Study 1 (re-analysis of Roets & Van Hiel, 2011b, Samples 1-3, in Belgium) and Study 2 (new Canadian data) their common/shared variance, modelled as generalized essentialism, doubles the predictive power relative to regression-based approaches with regard to racism (but not anti-gay or -schizophrenic prejudices). Theoretical implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hodson
authors.affiliation: Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Malvina N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Skorska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011287:Prejudice; D012933:Social Identification; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: entitativity; essentialism; natural kinds; prejudice