Stereotype content refers to the attributes that people think characterize a group. Studies of stereotype content examine what people think of others rather than the reasons and mechanisms involved in stereotyping.[14]
Early theories of stereotype content proposed by social psychologists like Gordon Allport assumed that stereotypes of outgroups reflected uniform antipathy.[15][16] Katz and Braly, for instance, argued in their classic 1933 study that ethnic stereotypes were uniformly negative.[14]
By contrast, a newer model of stereotype content theorizes that stereotypes are frequently ambivalent and vary along two dimensions: warmth and competence. Warmth and competence are respectively predicted by lack of competition and status; groups that do not compete with the ingroup for the same resources (e.g., college space) are perceived as warm while high-status (e.g., economically or educationally successful) groups are considered competent. The groups within each of the four combinations of high and low levels of warmth and competence elicit distinct emotions.[17] The model explains the phenomenon that some outgroups are admired but disliked while others are liked but disrespected. It was empirically tested on a variety of national and international samples and was found to reliably predict stereotype content.[15][18]