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Published on: February 8, 2019
Beyond mere novelty: Categorization drives differentiation
Patrick Rothermund1, Roland Deutsch1
1Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|August 4, 2026
Summary
Differentiation, the tendency to highlight group differences, is driven by categorization, not just novelty. This process plays a key role in how stereotypes form and evolve.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Stereotype formation is influenced by differentiation, prioritizing distinct group attributes.
- The role of novelty versus categorization in differentiation remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether differentiation is inherent to categorization or a byproduct of novelty processing.
- To disentangle the effects of group comparison and stimulus novelty on differentiation.
Main Methods:
- Three preregistered experiments were conducted.
- Participants learned social traits assigned to one or two groups.
- Novelty and intergroup distinctiveness were manipulated across conditions.
Main Results:
- Recall for novel traits was enhanced in two-group conditions compared to single-group or no-group conditions.
- Novel traits were perceived as more typical for their group only when intergroup distinctiveness was present.
- Findings support a category-based account of differentiation.
Conclusions:
- Differentiation is a genuine categorization effect, not solely a response to novelty.
- This process serves a functional role in distinguishing between social groups.
- Implications for understanding category learning and stereotype formation are discussed.
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