Stereotyping Hispanics and Whites: Perceived Differences in Social Roles as a Determinant of Ethnic Stereotypes

Abstract

Abstract This study examined predictions of assumed-characteristics theory in explaining differences between stereotypes of Hispanics and Whites in the United States. According to this theory, access to background information concerning social status moderates the effects of ethnicity in making judgments of people. White subjects were presented with a brief description of a 35-year-old man whose job title and ethnicity were varied, and they rated the stimulus person on a variety of personal attributes that, in previous research, differentiated Hispanics from Whites. Results were generally consistent with assumed-characteristics theory, indicating that stereotypic beliefs about Hispanics and Whites derived in part from inferences about the distribution of the two groups into different roles in the status hierarchy.