Stereotypes and the System: Building on Jennifer Eberhardt’s Contribution to Social Psychology

This narrative literature review examines how racial stereotypes function not only withinindividual cognition but also across institutional systems in the United States, building on thefoundational contributions of social psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt. The review demonstrateshow racial bias, especially racial stereotypes, impacts results through routine behaviors, policydecisions, and algorithmic systems, drawing on multidisciplinary research from several fields,including psychology, criminal justice, education, media, and technology. Eberhardt's researchshows how perception and behavior are influenced by implicit associations, and how these biasesbecome more pronounced when they are ingrained in official organizations.This review criticallysynthesizes empirical findings across sectors, including disparities in school discipline, racializedpolicing, skewed media portrayals, and algorithmic discrimination in artificial intelligence. Italso highlights recent methodological innovations, such as natural language processing and field-based experiments that help uncover and measure structural bias. The paper identifies keyimplications for institutional reform and outlines future research directions, including globalapplications and participatory approaches. The central argument is that dismantling racial biasrequires not only shifting individual attitudes but transforming the systems that reproduceinequality. By situating psychological research within broader societal structures, this reviewcalls for institutionally grounded interventions that are empirically supported, ethically informed,and socially responsive.