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

The present research relates recent research 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 where no stereotypic expectations are activated. This impairment, however, should be most pronounced when the information is brought to mind with ease. It should be attenuated if the retrieval of the respective information is associated with difficulty. The results of the present study confirm this hypothesis. In line with prior research, the findings 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.