Stereotypes

Stereotypes are a set of beliefs a person holds about the personal attributes of a group of people. They are both descriptive (what group members are like) and prescriptive (what group members should be like). This entry provides an overview of group stereotypes, particularly stereotypes related to gender, race, and ethnicity as they apply to voters’ evaluations of political candidates and politicians in the United States. Early sections discuss characteristics of stereotypes, theories of stereotyping, and factors that influence stereotype use. Later sections focus on group stereotypes relevant to evaluations of political actors, stereotype content, and the effects of stereotype threat on female citizens’ levels of political knowledge. The entry concludes with a brief discussion of explicit and implicit measures of stereotypes.