Are Chinese Immigrants Evaluated as More Competent than Warm? (In)congruence between Stereotypes and Speech Evaluations
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Abstract
This study concerns the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants, perception of Mandarin-accented speakers, and the relationship between them. Whereas the study of accented speech has focused on attributes related to status and solidarity, recent research on stereotypes has centered on the two fundamental dimensions of competence and warmth. Working on the premise that accents can facilitate recognition of social categories, this study examines the thesis that accented speech can cue personality evaluations of the speakers congruent with cognitive stereotypes held of the same social categories. 330 Canadian undergraduates evaluated speeches made by recent Chinese immigrants, and reported their stereotypical representation of Chinese immigrants as a group. Results suggest incongruence in these two types of evaluation: whereas stereotypes of Chinese immigrants are rated as higher in competence than in warmth, Chinese immigrant speakers are rated as higher in warmth than in competence.