Person perception and the evaluation of Aboriginal topical art: How to change stereotypes

A study of impression formation was made. The evaluation of products by stimulus persons was found to be affected by the adaptation-level concept, the contrast-assimilation principle, and balance theory concepts. Discrepant information produced cognitive reorganization and overevaluation. Two experimental groups (n = 54) participated in 1 of 2 conditions. In the first, a white stimulus person appeared as the “artist” of 10 drawings; in the second condition, an Aboriginal “artist” claimed authorship of the identical products. Subsequently, participants were asked to evaluate the drawings on an open-ended question and the semantic differential. The results show that the drawings attributed to the Aboriginal “artist” produced more positive impressions and were rated more highly on the semantic differential. These data support the importance of developing minority models to counter predominant stereotypes in the white community.