Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rhodes M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3427061 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20120806 34
Social essentialism entails the belief that certain social categories (e.g., gender, race) mark fundamentally distinct kinds of people. Essentialist beliefs have pernicious consequences, supporting social stereotyping and contributing to prejudice. How does social essentialism develop? In the studies reported here, we tested the hypothesis that generic language facilitates the cultural transmission of social essentialism. Two studies found that hearing generic language about a novel social categ ...[more]