This paper investigates how cognitive processes contribute to the persistence of social stereotypes through three experiments involving 150 high school and undergraduate students. Participants were presented with sentences describing various occupational groups using trait adjectives, either consistent with or unrelated to existing stereotypes. The findings reveal systematic biases in participants’ judgments, showing that they perceived a stronger correlation between traits and occupations that aligned with their stereotypes, thereby demonstrating how existing beliefs shape the interpretation of new information and help maintain stereotypes even in the absence of confirming evidence.