ABSTRACT
This his volume represents an attempt to provide an integration of three different lines of research in social psychology. These three are reflected in our choice of title: “Perceived Variability, Entitativity, and Essentialism.” Each of these three terms emerged from distinct lines of work, much of it done by contributors to this volume. As we will see, these three terms, when applied to the perception of social groups, refer to related concepts. Our goal in launching this volume was to clarify their definitions, their relations, their causes, and their consequences.
