The Bidirectional Causal Relation between Implicit Stereotypes and Implicit Prejudice

Implicit evaluative bias and implicit stereotypical bias are commonly regarded as conceptually distinct but related constructs. However, previous research remains silent on the processes underlying relations between the two constructs. Expanding on the hypothesis that evaluative and stereotypical associations mutually constrain each other, the current research demonstrated that (1) experimentally induced changes in the valence of semantic attributes associated with a group influence implicit evaluations of that group (Experiments 1 and 2), and (2) experimentally induced changes in the valence of a group influence implicit stereotyping of that group (Experiments 3 and 4). We tested these predictions with both fictional (Experiments 1 and 3) and real groups (Experiments 2 and 4). The findings suggest a bi-directional causal relation between evaluation and stereotyping in implicit bias. Implications for theorizing on the relation between implicit evaluative bias and implicit stereotypical bias as well as the development of bias interventions are discussed.