Power Can Increase Stereotyping

Previous research indicates that power increases attention to stereotype-consistent information. The ecological validity of this hypothesis was tested in managers and subordinates in the hotel industry. Participants were presented with stereotype-consistent and stereotype-inconsistent information about an ingroup or outgroup target, and their task was to judge the suitability of the target for a job that was either consistent or inconsistent with the stereotype. Subordinates attended more to individuating information and paid overall more attention to social information than managers. In addition, the managers’ judgments of the suitability of the outgroup target were dependent on the stereotype consistency of the job, whereas the subordinates’ judgments were not. These findings are consistent with experimental research and shed light on the conditions that promote stereotyping and discrimination.