The Ingroup–Outgroup Effect of Implicit Social Hierarchy Stereotypes

Social hierarchy stereotypes play an important role in triggering intergroup prejudices. However, few researchers explored how people with different power and status perceive the differences in the social hierarchy stereotypes of ingroup and outgroup. We used the probe recognition paradigm to examine the ingroup-outgroup effect of implicit social hierarchy stereotypes on warmth and competence. The results showed that the high-power groups showed an implicit ingroup preference on competence but no warmth-based bias, whereas low-power groups showed an implicit outgroup preference on competence and an implicit ingroup preference on warmth; the high-status groups showed implicit ingroup preferences on both competence and warmth, and low-status groups showed an implicit outgroup preference on competence and an implicit ingroup preference on warmth. This suggests that power and status play different roles in predicting the implicit stereotypes of warmth and competence.