ABSTRACT
We tested a mediation model of weight bias that considers person attributes and contact experiences with overweight individuals. In Study 1, we administered a survey to assess Openness, Agreeableness, Attributional Complexity, contact experiences with overweight individuals, and weight bias. Mediation analyses found that Agreeableness predicted less weight bias through contact experiences. In Study 2, we asked participants to interact with a peer whose weight and attributions regarding the weight were experimentally manipulated. We then measured acceptance of the peer. Agreeableness was found to indirectly predict more acceptance of an overweight peer through Empathy and contact experiences. These results show that contact theory is applicable to the domain of weight bias, and support person-situation approaches to prejudice.
Subject(s)
Interpersonal Relations , Overweight/psychology , Personality , Prejudice/psychology , Social Perception , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young AdultABSTRACT
People generally have better memories for traits that are stereotypic consistent rather than stereotypic inconsistent. From social identity theory, we hypothesized that this stereotype consistency effect would be moderated by group membership and trait valence. Specifically, we expected the typical stereotype-consistency effect when the target person was an outgroup member (different ethnicity from the participant). However, if the target person was an ingroup member (same ethnicity as the participant), we expected stereotypicality to facilitate memory for positive traits but not negative traits. Participants (N = 104) read a series of statements about an ingroup member or an outgroup member and subsequently completed a memory test. The results confirmed our main prediction. The findings have implications for social identity theory, social cognition research, and for understanding intergroup relations.
