Stereotype Content Model

Stereotype Content Model and Asian American Stereotypes

The original Stereotype Content Model (SCM) extends existing social psychological theories of stereotype to consider out-groups’ additional information on key dimensions of nationality, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status that leads to differential evaluation of immigrant groups. Immigrant stereotypes have two-dimensional stereotypes of competence and morality (warmth/cold). These stereotypes of the same group work in a variety of intergroup perception and may fluctuate in uniformity over time.

SCM has two key components: the cross-dimensional ambivalence and the reflection of societal power in stereotype contents. Ambivalence stereotypes are characterized by their inconsistency

Competence and warmth are closely related to realistic and symbolic threats a group poses. Realistic threats refer to physical and material threats to the in-group’s wellbeing, political and economic power. Symbolic threats refer to threats to the in-group’s worldview (norms, values, behaviors), identity, and culture. Maddux and colleagues (2008) found that Asian Americans’ model minority stereotype causes negative attitudes and emotions in situations involving realistic threats—competition over resources and opportunities—to other groups. More specifically, realistic threats mediate the relationship between positive stereotypes and negative attitudes and emotions of hostility and fear. Further, realistic threats mediate the relationship between negative stereotypes of lacking warmth and sociability and negative attitudes and emotions toward Asian Americans. In sum, realistic threat is a specific and concrete mechanism in which positive stereotypes can be translated into negative, rather than positive, attitudes and emotions toward an outgroup in certain situations where the positive traits in others are likely to produce negative consequences of the ingroup and its

Zhang’s experimental study confirms that Asian Americans’ perceived high competence and low warmth are correlated with the perceived threats that they pose. More specifically, in-group members perceive Asian Americans as realistic and symbolic threats who pose competition and threats to the resources, welfare, and success of others as well as to the mainstream identity, values, and culture. However, only perceived warmth was significant in Zhang’s analyses, providing evidence in support the primacy of warmth over competence in evaluating out-groups. In regard to the relationship between SCM and emotions, Zhang finds that competence and warmth have different effects on in-groups’ emotions toward Asian Americans: whereas Asian Americans’ perceived competence is directly correlated with in-group members’ emotions, their perceived warmth only had indirect effects on in-group members’ emotions, mediated by perceived