Students were told to write an essay about a tough-looking male "skinhead." Group A was told not to let their stereotypes about skinheads influence them.Group B was told nothing.Each student was later brought into a room with eight empty chairs.The first chair had a jacket draped over it that supposedly belonged to a skinhead.Group A students sat farther away from the jacket than did group B students.These events probably happened because:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Group A was likely actively suppressing their skinhead stereotype, which may have led to a rebound effect where the stereotype became more salient, causing them to distance themselves from the jacket in an effort to disconfirm the stereotype. This phenomenon is known as stereotype activation.

Students Were Told to Write an Essay About a Tough-Looking