(by the subjects), the subjects perceived a situation as being more aggressive, close to a fight, when played by black actors whereas with white actors, it was seen as playful. Such biases may also be looked at as self-fulfilling, or even self-protecting, the 'sense of self'. This self positivity is 'natural', and as such can be projected onto one's perception of the in-group - having similar effects at the other end of the spectrum. That is, a negative view of an individual, projected onto 'their' group, or the out-group. This is the reason for most stereotypes being negative.Our categorisation and biases can also have an effect on others. Essed (1988) found that white stereotyping of black people had a damaging effect in job interviews, through discomfort and unrest due to the questions asked during the interview. This study was conducted out of the laboratory. A further example of the effects of racial stereotyping on others is a replication of a British government commissioned study in which a black and a white person apply to rent a flat. The landlords pre judgement of black people through stereotyping affected the black man's chance and legal right to rent the flat (BBC television, Black and White, 1987). This is an example of the out-group homogeneity effect (Brown, 1995).As well as exaggeration of inter-group differences, another key effect of categorisation is the enhancement of intra-group similarities, known as inter-group homogeneity. The effect of this cognitive process of thought, through categorisation is the perception that the out-group is more homogenous than the in-groupHamilton (1979) found that black families were viewed in more categorical terms than white families, who were individually perceived. Jones, et al. (1981) found a similar effect; that members of university clubs saw their group members' personality traits as more diverse than out-group members'. A criticism of this study, and the homogeneity effect as...
