Introduction

In recent decades the emphasis of research into stereotype formation, and indeed stereotyping more generally, has tended to be on process rather than content. The rise of the social cognition approach within this field has shifted the focus of research towards an investigation of the cognitive processes involved in stereotyping. This is also true of approaches to stereotype formation, such as distinctiveness-based illusory correlation (Hamilton & Gifford, 1976). The actual content of stereotypes has appeared somewhat secondary in such accounts. However, recently we are witnessing something of a revival of interest in the content issue, with increased research into the functions served by stereotypes and an emphasis on stereotypes as ‘aids to explanations’ (see McGarty, Yzerbyt & Spears, this volume). Indeed, if one takes a ‘meaning’ based approach to stereotype formation, it would seem that the content of stereotypes should be highly significant to understanding stereotypes as explanations or sense-making devices.

In this chapter we take the formation of stereotype content as our focus.