Cognitive busyness disrupts stereotype activation because it
A) lowers perceivers' level of prejudice.
B) motivates people to appear unprejudiced.
C) enhances perceptual abilities.
D) uses up working memory capacity.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Cognitive busyness refers to situations where a person's working memory is occupied with other tasks or information, which makes it difficult to activate stereotypes. This is because working memory capacity is limited, and when it is already being used, there is less available capacity to activate stereotypes. Therefore, option D is the correct answer. Options A and B are not necessarily true, as cognitive busyness may not always lower prejudice or motivate people to appear unprejudiced. Option C is also incorrect, as cognitive busyness may actually impair perceptual abilities.

Cognitive Busyness Disrupts Stereotype Activation Because It