Stereotype Content: Warmth and Competence Endure
Open accessAbstract
Two dimensions persist in social cognition when people are making sense of individuals or groups. The stereotype content model (SCM) terms these two basic dimensions perceived warmth (trustworthiness, friendliness) and competence (capability, assertiveness). Measured reliably and validly, these Big Two dimensions converge across survey, cultural, laboratory, and biobehavioral approaches. Generality across place, levels, and time further support the framework. Similar dimensions have emerged repeatedly over the history of psychology and in current theories. The SCM proposes and tests a comprehensive causal theory: Perceived social structure (cooperation, status) predicts stereotypes (warmth, competence), which in turn predict emotional prejudices (pride, pity, contempt, envy), and finally, the emotions predict discrimination (active and passive help and harm). The SCM uncovers systematic content and dynamics of stereotypes, which has practical implications.
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Several included studies employed statistical techniques such as log-odds ratios, while others used custom metrics or adapted existing frameworks like the Stereotype Content Model.
“Several studies employed statistical techniques such as log-odds ratios, while others used custom metrics or adapted existing frameworks like the Stereotype Content Model [38]”
From Evaluating and addressing demographic disparities in medical large language models: a systematic review (2025) · cites this paper as [38]
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Cites
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Self-citation
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“Fiske has demonstrated that the homeless are considered less competent and trustworthy than almost any group in society (Fiske 2013; 2012; 2018).”
- Authors
- Fiske, S. T.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fiske, Susan T.
- ORCID
- Fiske, Susan T.
- Venue
- Current Directions in Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-02-28
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 67-73
- ISSN
- 0963-7214 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8721
- PMC
- PMC5945217
- OpenAlex
- W2791423782
- Cited by
- 839
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 168 · 2025: 166 · 2024: 125 · 2023: 105 · 2022: 96 · 2021: 84 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 6
- FWCI
- 101.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Current Directions in Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD047879)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Keywords
- stereotype content model, perceived warmth, perceived competence, stereotypes, social cognition, discrimination, cross-cultural consistency
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