When negative expectancies turn into negative performance: The role of ease of retrieval

The present research relates recent work on the ease of retrieval heuristic to the impact of negative stereotypic expectations on test performance. It is argued that when individuals recall information that supports negative stereotypic expectations, this activation may impair test performance relative to conditions when no stereotypic expectations are activated. This impairment, however, should be most pronounced when the information is brought to mind with ease. If the retrieval of the respective information is associated with difficulty, the impairment should be attenuated. The results of the present study confirm this hypothesis. In line with prior research, the results suggest that the experienced ease of retrieval is an important moderator of how accessible information is used. Going beyond existing evidence on attitude and frequency judgments, the results demonstrate an impact of ease of retrieval on test performance.