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Preface: The Purpose of Stereotypes Elora C. Voyles and Joel T. Nadler This book provides a cutting-edge examination of U.S. stereotypes and research. As discussed throughout this book, stereotypes have powerful influences on interpersonal interactions, reactions, and outcomes. We first provide a strong foundation on stereotypes research, including cognitive and social aspects and their impact. To further solidify the readers’ foundation of knowledge, we also have included chapters on explicit and implicit stereo- types and bias. We also review the latest research on stereotype threat and the valence of stereotypes. These first four chapters provide a summary of broad stereotype concepts that permeate throughout many categories of ste- reotypes. The following eleven chapters examine group-specific stereotype content including age, race, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, weight, disability, and religion, and also examine the impacts. We also offer an in-depth review of research on each category, some of which are often neglected in other works. The conclusion discusses intersectionality and future directions for stereotypes researchers. It should be noted that the stereotypes of social categories described in this book are bound to the culture in the United States. Stereotypes may dif- fer in kind and degree in other countries and cultures, although many are shared across cultures. The social categories covered in this book are in no way exhaustive the complete list of stereotyped groups in the United States alone would be extensive. We chose to dedicate chapters to social categories that are protected under employment law in the United States, and groups that have a substantial body of previous research. Members of these catego- ries are often faced with discrimination based on these stereotypes. In the final chapter of this book, we discuss the intersectional nature of stereotypes. Intersectionality refers to the unique interaction between identi- ties. For example, picturing a Christian will bring a certain image to mind,