Influencia de las expectativas estereotípicas en la espontaneidad del proceso inferencial

Resum

This research was intended to analyse the influence of Congruent vs. Incongruent information and the stereotypical expectations on the level of spontaneity inference process. 31 subjects were distributed in various groups according to the type of information associated to the category (Congruent vs. Incongruent) and trait type (how easy was to imagine behaviors and how many behaviors were necessary to confirm or disconfirm the trait). The cue was provided in the memory test (related to the actor, to the behavior or without clue). The dependent variable was the total remembered sentences or the parts of the sentence. The results showed that spontaneous trait inference was not always produced. Certainly, there were more spontaneous trait inferences with congruent information. Furthermore, spontaneous inference appears only when behaviors are easily imagined from traits. We conclude that the two factors considered have an influence on the spontaneity in the process of trait inference