Stereotype content model across cultures: Towards universal similarities and some differences

  1. Amy J. C. Cuddy1,*,
  2. Susan T. Fiske2,
  3. Virginia S. Y. Kwan2,
  4. Peter Glick3,
  5. Stéphanie Demoulin4,
  6. Jacques-Philippe Leyens4,
  7. Michael Harris Bond5,
  8. Jean-Claude Croizet6,
  9. Naomi Ellemers7,
  10. Ed Sleebos7,
  11. Tin Tin Htun8,
  12. Hyun-Jeong Kim9,
  13. Greg Maio10,
  14. Judi Perry11,
  15. Kristina Petkova12,
  16. Valery Todorov12,
  17. Rosa Rodríguez-Bailón13,
  18. Elena Morales13,
  19. Miguel Moya13,
  20. Marisol Palacios13,
  21. Vanessa Smith14,
  22. Rolando Perez14,
  23. Jorge Vala15,
  24. Rene Ziegler16

Article first published online: 10 JAN 2011

DOI: 10.1348/014466608X314935

Issue

British Journal of Social Psychology

British Journal of Social Psychology

Volume 48, Issue 1, pages 1–33, March 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Cuddy, A. J. C., Fiske, S. T., Kwan, V. S. Y., Glick, P., Demoulin, S., Leyens, J.-P., Bond, M. H., Croizet, J.-C., Ellemers, N., Sleebos, E., Htun, T. T., Kim, H.-J., Maio, G., Perry, J., Petkova, K., Todorov, V., Rodríguez-Bailón, R., Morales, E., Moya, M., Palacios, M., Smith, V., Perez, R., Vala, J. and Ziegler, R. (2009), Stereotype content model across cultures: Towards universal similarities and some differences. British Journal of Social Psychology, 48: 1–33. doi: 10.1348/014466608X314935

Author Information

  1. 1

    Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

  2. 2

    Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA

  3. 3

    Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA

  4. 4

    Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

  5. 5

    Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

  6. 6

    University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France

  7. 7

    Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

  8. 8

    Japan Women's University, Tokyo, Japan

  9. 9

    Ewha Women's University, Seoul, South Korea

  10. 10

    Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK

  11. 11

    University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

  12. 12

    Institute of Sociology, Sofia, Bulgaria

  13. 13

    University of Granada, Granada, Spain

  14. 14

    University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica

  15. 15

    University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

  16. 16

    Eberhard-Karls-Universitaet Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

* Correspondence should be addressed to Dr Amy J. C. Cuddy, Harvard Business School, Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA 02163 USA (e-mail: acuddy@hbs.edu).

  1. After the first six authors, the remaining authors are listed alphabetically by the last name of our primary contact at the university.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 10 JAN 2011
  2. Article first published online: 10 JAN 2011
  3. Received 3 June 2005; revised version received 21 April 2008

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The stereotype content model (SCM) proposes potentially universal principles of societal stereotypes and their relation to social structure. Here, the SCM reveals theoretically grounded, cross-cultural, cross-groups similarities and one difference across 10 non-US nations. Seven European (individualist) and three East Asian (collectivist) nations (N=1,028) support three hypothesized cross-cultural similarities: (a) perceived warmth and competence reliably differentiate societal group stereotypes; (b) many out-groups receive ambivalent stereotypes (high on one dimension; low on the other); and (c) high status groups stereotypically are competent, whereas competitive groups stereotypically lack warmth. Data uncover one consequential cross-cultural difference: (d) the more collectivist cultures do not locate reference groups (in-groups and societal prototype groups) in the most positive cluster (high-competence/high-warmth), unlike individualist cultures. This demonstrates out-group derogation without obvious reference-group favouritism. The SCM can serve as a pancultural tool for predicting group stereotypes from structural relations with other groups in society, and comparing across societies.

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