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Using Priming To Study Social Categorization, Jerzy J. Karylowski, Harry M. Wallace, Michael A. Motes, D. Van Liempd, S. Eicher

Psychology Faculty Research

Do people spontaneously categorize stereotypically masculine and stereotypically feminine trait and job labels according to gender? The present experiment provided a methodologically stringent test of automatic gender-based categorization using a modification of a semantic priming methodology. Subjects processing goals were manipulated by asking questions about primes that either did or did not require semantic processing. Results provide support for a spontaneous gender-based categorization of trait labels regardless of the processing goals. However, semantic processing goals appear to be necessary for a spontaneous gender-based categorization of job labels.