Perceived entitativity, stereotype formation, and the interchangeability of group members
Crawford, Sherman and Hamilton examined how a group's perceived entitativity affects the processing of one member's behaviour and whether that information carries over to other members. Across three savings-in-relearning experiments, trait inferences about a single member were stronger for low-entitativity groups and for collections of individuals, and traits transferred from one member to the others more strongly in high-entitativity groups. The authors conclude that high entitativity leads perceivers to form a stereotype of the group and apply it to all members, and they discuss implications for impression formation.
Crawford, Sherman and Hamilton examined how a group's perceived entitativity affects the processing of one member's behaviour and whether that information carries over to other members. Across three savings-in-relearning experiments, trait inferences about a single member were stronger for low-entitativity groups and for collections of individuals, and traits transferred from one member to the others more strongly in high-entitativity groups. The authors conclude that high entitativity leads perceivers to form a stereotype of the group and apply it to all members, and they discuss implications for impression formation.
Written from the abstract, University of Bristol research portal and Crossref record, 2026-10-31.
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Crawford, M. T., Sherman, S. J., & Hamilton, D. L. (2002). Perceived entitativity, stereotype formation, and the interchangeability of group members. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1076-1094. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.5.1076 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.5.1076