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The current research was designed to assess the content of the criminal stereotype from a Hispanic population. In Study 1 participants were asked to provide general information about the concepts associated with criminals. Study 2 used this information to develop a questionnaire that assessed specific perceptions of criminals, criminal behavior, and criminal activities. In addition, stereotypes for Hispanic, White, Black, and Asian criminals were assessed. Results present a picture of the typical criminal, as well as uncovering differences in people's stereotypes of criminals of varying ethnicities. A brief review of the criminal stereotype literature is provided along with a discussion on the potential impact criminal stereotypes may have on eyewitness memory and identification.
Stereotypes can be thought of as the mental representations that people have for members of a group (e.g. racial or ethnic groups, gender, etc.). These mental representations typically exaggerate the differences between groups and minimize the differences of people within the same group (Schneider, 2004; Stangor & Ford, 1992). In addition, the group being stereotyped (the out-group) tends to be viewed more negatively and as more homogeneous than the in-group, which is perceived more positively and as more heterogeneous (Kunda, 1999). Research has shown that people have well-defined stereotypes for racial/ethnic groups, males/females, and for youth/elderly (Schneider, 2004). The content of these stereotypes is often in the form of trait ascriptions as well as personality and social category information (e.g., loud, lazy, poor).
Stereotypes impact information processing (Kunda, 1999), and previous research has supported the notion that when stereotypes are elicited, individuals are likely to interpret others' actions in ways that are consistent with the predetermined labels (Cantor & Mischel, 1977; Schneider, 2004; Yarmey, 1993). Criminal stereotypes may thus introduce a bias into the legal system that negatively affects people's lives and the course of law enforcement activities. An understanding of the composition of people's criminal stereotypes is important, and this paper focuses on uncovering people's stereotypes about criminals in general, and criminals of specific ethnicities.
A criminal can be defined as a person having been convicted of a crime or who engages in criminal activity. When thinking about a criminal, concepts, images, and experiences come to mind that enable one to form a mental representation of a criminal. While there...