The University of Chicago
Graduate School of Business
1101 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: (773) 834-0722
Fax: (773) 702-0458
Email me
Bernd Wittenbrink
Position
Associate Professor of Behavioral Science
Ph.D. in Psychology, University of Michigan, 1994
Field Specialties
Social Cognition, Attitudes, Stereotyping and Prejudice
Biography
My research explores the basic psychological processes by which social stereotypes influence social perception, judgment and behavior. Specifically, I am interested in (I) conditions for stereotype use, (II) the role of stereotypes in explaining social situations, and (III) the effects of social influence on stereotypes. A central theme to this work is the recognition that a person does not hold stereotypic beliefs as isolated entities but that instead stereotypes are an integral part of a person's knowledge and subjective understanding of the world. This, I believe, has important implications for the functioning of stereotypes, their acquisition, and their development.
Selected Publications
Wittenbrink, B., Judd, C. M, & Park, B. (2001). Spontaneous prejudice in context: Variability in automatically activated attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 815-827.
Wittenbrink, B., Gist, P. L., & Hilton, J. L. (1997) Structural properties of stereotypic knowledge and their influences on the construal of social situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 526-543.
Wittenbrink, B. & Henly, J. R. (1996). Creating social reality: Informational social influence and the content of stereotypic beliefs. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 598-610.
