Changing ethnic/racial stereotypes: The roles of individuals and groups

The effects of various types of information on stereotypical beliefs were examined. Undergraduate students read either stereotypical or nonstereotypical descriptions of Korean, Mexican, and Jewish individuals. Participants’ responses to questions about the described individuals differed significantly across description type. Participants were also asked to estimate the percentages of individuals in the three ethnic groups who possessed certain stereotypical traits. Some participants were shown estimates supposedly given by previous participants. Both the individual descriptions and the provided percentages were associated with significant differences in participants’ estimated percentages. Group information (percentages) was more often effective in producing differences in the estimated percentages than was information about individuals.