Racial discrimination typically expands under resource scarcity, but the psychological mechanisms driving this effect remain poorly understood. We examined the role of stereotypes in this effect, given their theorized function in asserting and maintaining existing group hierarchies, and hypothesized that stereotype expression would be heightened in response to scarcity, a signal of social instability. In Study 1, the manipulated perception of scarcity strengthened reported knowledge of stereotypes of Black Americans as low in socioeconomic status and as threatening, relative to control participants. In Study 2, perceived scarcity increased the stereotypicality of participants' visualizations of a Black male face, as assessed using a reverse correlation procedure and judged by independent raters. Study 3 replicated the effect of scarcity on stereotypic face visualizations and further demonstrated that scarcity increased anti-Black stereotypes even among individuals with relatively weak implicit stereotype associations. Together, these studies reveal that the mere perception of scarcity can increase stereotyping of Black Americans, as expressed in self-reports and implicit visualizations of Black faces. We discuss the potential role of stereotyping under scarcity as a means to justify racial discrimination and maintain power structures in response to systemic threat.

种族歧视通常会在资源稀缺的情况下扩大，但推动这种影响的心理机制仍然知之甚少。我们研究了刻板印象在这种效应中的作用，考虑到它们在断言和维持现有群体等级制度方面的理论作用，并假设刻板印象的表达会因稀缺而增强，这是社会不稳定的信号。在研究 1 中，对稀缺性的操纵感知加强了对黑人的刻板印象的认识，这些刻板印象相对于对照参与者而言社会经济地位低下且具有威胁性。在研究 2 中，感知稀缺性增加了参与者对黑人男性面部形象的刻板印象，这是使用反向相关程序评估并由独立评估者判断的。研究 3 复制了稀缺性对刻板印象面部可视化的影响，并进一步证明，即使在内隐刻板印象关联相对较弱的个体中，稀缺性也会增加反黑人刻板印象。总之，这些研究表明，仅仅对稀缺性的感知就会增加对美国黑人的刻板印象，这体现在自我报告和对黑人面孔的隐含形象化中。我们讨论了在稀缺性下刻板印象的潜在作用，作为证明种族歧视和维持权力结构以应对系统性威胁的一种手段。这些研 我们讨论了在稀缺性下刻板印象的潜在作用，作为证明种族歧视和维持权力结构以应对系统性威胁的一种手段。这些研 我们讨论了在稀缺性下刻板印象的潜在作用，作为证明种族歧视和维持权力结构以应对系统性威胁的一种手段。