Cognitive Lenses and Homophily Heuristics Have the Power to Shape Social Perception

This talk will be broken into two different segments. In the first segment, I will describe a model of intersectional stereotyping called the lens model. The lens model suggests that how perceivers stereotype intersectional targets (e.g., gay Black men) depends on which social identity-or which intersection of social identities-has been made situationally salient to perceivers. For example, if perceivers are situationally incentivized to use the lens of race, the lens model suggests that they will exhibit racial stereotyping toward gay Black men, but no sexual stereotyping. In contrast, if perceivers are situationally incentivized to use the lens of sexual orientation, they are expected to do the reverse-that is, to exhibit sexual stereotyping toward gay Black men, but no racial stereotyping. Implications of the lens model for the study of intersectional stereotyping (particularly in organizational contexts) will be discussed. In the second segment of this research talk, I will describe a perceptual phenomenon called the racial homophily heuristic. This heuristic refers to a tendency among perceivers to impute beliefs about racial homophily onto those they perceive-causing them to "see" same-race dyads in the workplace even when such dyads do not exist. The implications of the racial homophily heuristic, both practical and theoretical, will likewise be discussed. Collectively, these two segments will speak to the power of cognitive lenses and homophily heuristics in shaping how we perceive the people around us.