Two studies examined cognitive representation for minority groups of varying sizes. Cognitive representation was operationalized as the degree of complexity in the ethnophaulisms, or ethnic slurs, for these minority groups. The results of these studies confirm the prediction that prototype cognitive representations will be more prevalent for smaller groups. The relation between group size and cognitive representation could not be dismissed as an artifact of a more fundamental association between prejudice and cognitive representation. Moreover, this basic effect did not seem to vary as a function of the region of origin of these ethnic groups or membership in the groups. The Discussion section considers the implications of these results for the study of stereotyping.
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