Outgroup homogeneity effects 3
also positively correlated with fear of AIDS (Crooks & Baur, 1990; D’Angelo, McGuire,
Abbott, & Sheridan, 1998). The recent number of HIV cases among female and
heterosexual population has increased, but whether it has resulted in changing the
perception of people with AIDS is questionable (D’Angelo et al., 1998). The present
study investigates perceptions of people with AIDS and people with cancer including
gender differences and sexual orientation.
Outgroup Homogeneity Effect
The “outgroup homogeneity effect” refers to the tendency to view members of
outgroups as more homogenous than members of the ingroup (e.g., Judd & Park, 1988;
Park & Rothbert, 1982). A related phenomenon is the tendency to view the members of
the ingroup as more heterogeneous than average (Mullen & Hu, 1989). Although these
two dimensions of the outgroup homogeneity effect have been found to occur more
readily in natural groups rather than in artificial, laboratory-created groups, the outgroup
homogeneity is more pronounced than ingroup heterogeneity (Mullen & Hu, 1989). The
reasons for outgroup homogeneity effects, and some related mechanism will be briefly
described next.
Minimal group paradigm. The explanation for these outgroup homogeneity
effects have been explored (e.g., Linville & Fischer, 1993; Park, Judd, & Ryan, 1991;
Ryan, Park, & Judd, 1996). Minimal contact with the outgroup members or the nature of
contact with these members may result in insufficient memory needed to identify the
differences in the outgroup. This may cause an ingroup member to think of specific
representatives from the ingroup but think about outgroup in more abstract terms (Park et
al., 1991). Linville and Fischer (1993) proposed that greater familiarity with the
Convention