The ‘Conceptual Distance Effect’ in the Causal Effects Under Experimental Manipulation Between Attitude and Stereotype

Understanding how attitudes and stereotypes influence each other is central to social cognition, yet prior findings have been inconsistent, with some indicating strong connections and others suggesting separation. To help explain these discrepancies, we introduce the construct of conceptual distance, defined as the evaluative proximity between attitude objects and stereotypical trait dimensions (e.g., warmth, morality, competence). Across four experiments, we first measured conceptual distance using a forced-choice task that estimated how closely each trait dimension aligns with positive or negative valence. We then tested whether the strength of causal effects between attitudes and stereotypes corresponds to these distances. Attitudes or stereotypes were manipulated using evaluative conditioning (EC), and their effects were measured through either explicit self-report ratings or Implicit Association Tests (IATs). Results consistently showed stronger causal effects for stereotype dimensions that were evaluatively closer to attitudes (warmth and morality) than for more distant ones (competence). These findings offer initial evidence for a correspondence between conceptual distance and the strength of experimentally induced influence. The study contributes to theories of causal cognition and social representation, and offers implications for designing interventions that aim to reduce stereotype-based bias and promote more flexible social inferences.