Effects of Physical Context on Stereotyping of Mexican American Males

Abstract

Based on Trope 's (1986) model of perception, the effects of physical context on stereo-typing and willingness to affiliate with Mexican American males were examined. In this two-part study, the effect of context alone was explored by showing a stilled videoframe of a library room and a crime scene without people in them. Results indicated that the context affected expectations of the type of people who might be seen in those contexts. In the second study, the interaction of context and stereotyping was examined by placing two Mexican American males (one of whom was "stereotypical") in scholar, crime, and neutral contexts. Results reveal an interaction between context and target stereotyping whereby physical context did not affect stereotyping except when the target could not be easily categorized by ethnicity alone. Discussion centers on contributions of these studies to the literature on context, stereotyping of Mexican Americans, and future research.