Name: warmth and competence in stereotypes
Uploaded: 2020-02-12T11:07:45.000Z
Duration: 2 min 16 s
Channel: JoVE

Stereotypes of others&mdash;the out-groups&mdash;aren&rsquo;t necessarily bad. When people attempt to relate to another group, they may experience mixed feelings that create ambivalent biases.

According to the stereotype content model, an individual may stereotype social groups based on the perception of two factors: warmth&mdash;whether a group is viewed as friendly&mdash;and competence, or how capable that group is perceived.

For example, during his workday a lawyer encounters diverse groups of people. He stereotypes his secretary as warm&mdash;she is friendly and helpful&mdash;but not competent, as she is &ldquo;average&rdquo; and lacks a law degree. This leads to him feeling sympathy towards her&mdash;like a paternalistic pity.

In contrast, he categorizes the firm&rsquo;s top female lawyer as highly competent&mdash;she is educated, assertive and successful&mdash;but not warm, as she competes with him for cases. This inspires envy.

However, when his boss&rsquo;s wife&mdash;a philanthropist&mdash;visits him, he views her as both warm and competent. He notes her generosity, along with her non-threatening nature, since she does not interfere with his work. As a result, he voices his admiration.

Finally, on his way home, the lawyer meets a homeless woman, who he perceives as highly incompetent&mdash;incapable of doing anything useful for society. He also does not see her as being warm; she&rsquo;s asking for change and must not have good intentions. This leads to contempt.

Thus, how a person stereotypes different people falls into four &ldquo;content of character&rdquo; classifications&mdash;low competence and warmth; high competence and warmth; or a mix of these factors, high on one dimension and low on the other, which results in ambivalence.

In addition, each category elicits a specific type of prejudiced emotion, which ultimately may be used to predict the types of discrimination that specific groups face.

stereotype content model

Stereotype Content Model

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick &amp; Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth&mdash;or that group&rsquo;s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm&mdash;and competence&mdash;or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence categorization, a person will feel a distinct way about a group, which influences their behavior toward those individuals.

Discrimination and the Stereotype Content Model

According to the SCM, group stereotypes can be broken down into four categories: (1) low for both warmth and competence; (2) high for both warmth and competence; (3) low in warmth, high in competence; and finally (4) high in warmth, low in competence. Respectively, these classifications provoke feelings of contempt, admiration, envy and pity&mdash;emotions that may result in certain groups being discriminated against. In the United States, two examples of this are women and the homeless.

While looking at gender in the workplace, research has demonstrated that employed mothers are viewed as warm yet incapable (Cuddy &amp; Fiske, 2004). On one hand, the pity that this categorization evokes may make colleagues more likely to provide help&mdash;for example, by offering to stay a little later to finish up a project, knowing that the mother has to pick up her children from school. However, it can also result in a type of &ldquo;passive harm.&rdquo; Here, managers may not actively try to sabotage or fire their maternal colleagues, but they may fail to either promote them or provide job-relevant training. Paradoxically, employed fathers are still seen as capable and don&rsquo;t experience the same degree of neglect in the office.

In contrast, the homeless are classically stereotyped as &ldquo;low&rdquo; in both warmth and competence, and seen as a societal burden. This stereotype breeds contempt, and as a result, this group is actively discriminated against, being the recipient of both &ldquo;passive&rdquo; and &ldquo;active&ldquo; harm&mdash;for example, being ignored or aggressively harassed by passersby on the street, respectively (Cuddy, Fiske &amp; Glick, 2007; Fiske, 2012). Such behavior may have a biological basis, as studies have shown that the homeless (and other members of the low warmth, low competence classification of the SCM, like drug addicts) fail to robustly activate a neural region typically involved in social function. As this area is normally stimulated when members of any of the other three SCM categories are encountered, this suggests that the homeless are dehumanized in the brain (Harris &amp; Fiske, 2007; Fiske, 2012). Fortunately, this can be circumvented by encouraging people to put themselves in the shoes of the disadvantaged, for example by humanizing them and imagining what types of food they like to eat. Thus, through application of the SCM, people can better understand why they react the way they do towards certain groups, and can modify their behavior to prevent discrimination.

Extending the Stereotype Content Model to Inanimate Objects 

While the SCM has classically been applied to interactions between social groups, some researchers are evaluating whether this model can predict feelings towards inanimate objects. For example, investigators have demonstrated that specific product brands can be categorized using a warmth (intention) and competence (ability) scale (Kervyn, Fiske &amp; Malone, 2012). Popular brands, like those manufacturing a favorite candy bar or soda, are typically viewed as friendly, capable and well-intentioned toward consumers&mdash;a perception that fosters admiration and loyalty, translating into more purchases. In contrast, brands that have received negative press&mdash;like an oil company involved in a spill&mdash;are viewed as ill-intentioned and incompetent, which evokes contempt and dissuades potential buyers. Interestingly, ambivalent product categories also exist, and include envied luxury items (classified as ill-intentioned but capable), and pitied government-subsidized brands, like the post office (seen as potentially incapable but trustworthy).

However, applications of the SCM are not limited to consumerism. Other researchers are evaluating whether warmth-competence stereotypes influence peoples&rsquo; perceptions of machines (Oliveira, R., Arriaga, P., Correia, F. &amp; Paiva, A. 2018 and 2019). Interestingly, such studies have demonstrated that people most admire and prefer robots that appear warm&mdash;for example, those programmed to offer words of encouragement during a simulated card game&mdash;even if such machines are calibrated to appear incompetent and make mistakes during a specific task. This may be due to the perception that fallible robots appear more human. Thus, through application of the SCM, engineers can improve android design, creating machines that people want to interact with in the future.

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick &amp; Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and ...

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Social Psychology

Foundations of Social Psychology

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

warmth and competence in stereotypes

The Stereotype Content Model explains how people judge social groups using two main ideas: warmth and competence. Warmth means a group’s perceived intent, or whether it seems likely to help or cause harm. Competence means the group’s ability to carry out that intent. Susan Fiske and colleagues first proposed this model, and it helps show why first impressions can shape behavior toward other people.

The model places stereotypes into four main categories. A group can be low in warmth and low in competence, high in both, low in warmth but high in competence, or high in warmth but low in competence. Each pattern tends to produce a different feeling. These feelings are contempt, admiration, envy, and pity, and they can lead to discrimination.

Research on gender in the workplace shows how the model works in real life. Employed mothers are often seen as warm but not very capable. That can lead to pity, which may make coworkers more likely to help, such as staying late to finish a project. But it can also cause passive harm, where managers do not actively attack them but still skip promotions or job training. Employed fathers are usually seen as capable, so they do not face the same level of neglect.

The homeless are often viewed as low in both warmth and competence. This stereotype can create contempt and lead to both passive and active harm. People may ignore them, or they may harass them on the street. Studies also suggest a brain-based response, because the homeless and other groups in this category, such as drug addicts, do not strongly activate a neural region involved in social function. That may mean they are dehumanized in the brain.

One way to reduce this response is to humanize people who are disadvantaged. For example, people can try to imagine what food they like to eat or what daily life is like for them. This kind of perspective taking can help people understand their reactions and change their behavior. In that way, the Stereotype Content Model can be used to better prevent discrimination.

Researchers have also tested whether warmth and competence can describe inanimate objects. Some brands, like popular candy bars or sodas, are seen as friendly, capable, and well-intentioned. That usually leads to admiration and loyalty, which can increase purchases. Other brands, such as an oil company linked to a spill, may be seen as ill-intentioned and incompetent, which can create contempt and drive buyers away.

The model can also apply to ambivalent products. Luxury items may seem capable but ill-intentioned, which makes them envied. Government-subsidized brands, such as the post office, may seem trustworthy but less capable, which can make them pitied. Researchers are also studying machines. People often prefer robots that seem warm, such as robots that offer encouragement during a card game, even if they make mistakes on a task. Those fallible robots may seem more human, and that insight can help engineers design androids people want to interact with.

Warmth and Competence in Stereotypes

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Warmth and Competence in Stereotypes | JoVE K12

JoVE Core Social Psychology offers a comprehensive learning experience on the principles of social behavior through concise, animated video lessons. The series explores key topics such as self-concept, social cognition, group dynamics, stereotypes, and relationships. It provides a structured foundation for understanding human behavior in social situations. Students gain insights into how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts while examining the psychological processes that influence interactions and judgments. By integrating theory with real-world applications, these lessons offer a clear and engaging approach to mastering essential concepts in social psychology.

Warmth and Competence in Stereotypes

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