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Publications
  • November 2016
  • Article
  • Quarterly Journal of Economics

Stereotypes

By: Pedro Bordalo, Katherine Baldiga Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer
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Abstract

We present a model of stereotypes based on Kahneman and Tversky's representativeness heuristic. A decision maker assesses a target group by overweighting its representative types, which we formally define to be the types that occur more frequently in that group than in a baseline reference group. Stereotypes formed in this way contain a "kernel of truth": they are rooted in true differences between groups. They are also context dependent: beliefs about a group depend on the characteristics of the reference group. Because stereotypes emphasize differences, they cause belief distortions, particularly when groups are similar. In line with our predictions, beliefs in the lab about abstract groups and beliefs in the field about political groups are context dependent and distorted in the direction of representative types.

Keywords

Prejudice and Bias

Citation

Bordalo, Pedro, Katherine Baldiga Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli, and Andrei Shleifer. "Stereotypes." Quarterly Journal of Economics 131, no. 4 (November 2016): 1753–1794.
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About The Author

Katherine B. Coffman

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March 2022
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    Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham

    By: Katherine Coffman and Olivia Hull
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    A (Dynamic) Investigation of Stereotypes, Belief-Updating, and Behavior

    By: Katherine B. Coffman, Paola Ugalde Araya and Basit Zafar
    • September 2021
    • Journal of Financial Economics

    Diagnostic Bubbles

    By: Pedro Bordalo, Nicola Gennaioli, Spencer Yongwook Kwon and Andrei Shleifer
More from the Authors
  • Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham By: Katherine Coffman and Olivia Hull
  • A (Dynamic) Investigation of Stereotypes, Belief-Updating, and Behavior By: Katherine B. Coffman, Paola Ugalde Araya and Basit Zafar
  • Diagnostic Bubbles By: Pedro Bordalo, Nicola Gennaioli, Spencer Yongwook Kwon and Andrei Shleifer
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