This study investigated the characteristics of the “stereotype check list,” the instrument typically employed in the study of intergroup stereotypes. A specimen group of undergraduates was tested with two forms of a questionnaire. One form contained a list of 84 adjectives taken from the original Katz-Braly check list; the other was open-ended. Each form employed as targets: Turks, Russians, Negroes, Japanese, Alorese, Jews, and Americans. Half the students were given the check list; half, the open-ended format. Two hypotheses were tested and confirmed: (1) check list respondents assigned more traits and showed greater consensus than those responding to the open-ended format; (2) the two formats produced different listings of traits. The findings displayed the major deficiencies of inadequate answer formats: their failure to elicit new answer options and their tendency to elicit “meaningless” answers. This research strongly suggests that check list studies may have contributed to the prejudice literature biased accounts of the distribution, acceptance, and content of intergroup stereotypes.