A mixed model of stereotype representation was tested. Experiment 1 examined the development of stereotypes about novel groups. Results showed that, at low levels of experience, stereotypic group knowledge is derived from information about particular group exemplars. However, as experience increases, an abstract group stereotype is formed that is stored and retrieved independently of the exemplars on which it was based. Results of Experiment 2 suggest that preexisting stereotypes about well-known groups are represented as abstract structures in memory. These results indicate that stereotypical knowledge is most likely to be exemplar-based in the absence of abstract stereotypes. The implications of these findings for other aspects of stereotyping and social perception are discussed.

The Quad Model proposes that four cognitive processes are pervasive across social behavior. I describe the model and compare it to dual- and uniprocess models. Distinguishing among the four processes can provide a more nuanced and accurate depiction of social behavior than can other models. It also allows the model to be applied to a much broader range of domains. A key problem for many dual-process models is that they confound processing style with either type of content (e.g., category vs. individuating information) or type of task (implicit vs. explicit tasks). As a result, these models have trouble assessing the joint influences of multiple processes. In contrast, the Quad Model provides estimates of the independent and simultaneous contributions of 4 key processes to social behavior. Copyright © 2006 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.