Stereotyping

The journal article used in reference to stereotyping was retrieved from the The Journal of Experimental Psychology. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how being exposed to social stereotypes can subconsciously affect our behavior. The article explores the theory that if the self is compared to the social stereotype of a perceived out-group, a group with which one does not identify, one will subconsciously behave differently. Therefore, there will be disparities between the similarities

By stereotyping we infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group have. Stereotypes lead to social categorisation, which is one of the reasons for prejudice attitudes.

Stereotyping is a normal part of every one’s life. Humans, by nature, classify things. We name animals and classify them by common characteristics but stereotyping can have negative repercussions, and everyone does it. In a recent study it was proven that everyone has an unconscious need to stereotype (Paul). In Junteenth and The Invisible man, Ralph Ellison argues that stereotyping can cause mayhem by making the people become something they are not.

Stereotyping and labelling can have damaging effects on people as individuals who are being stereotyped might start to accept the negative labels and damage their self-esteem .Stereotyping and labelling also can damage people and society by causing conflict between individuals that may not have existed if it wasn’t down to people being stereotyped or labelled.

Stereotyping is when something is believed about a group of people that is untrue or only partly true. When someone stereotypes against a group of people they tend to not understand that group or do not want to understand them. Black people, to me, are the most stereotyped race. They are stereotyped as being lazy, loud, they steal, love chicken and watermelon, the women get pregnant and the men are well-endowed. As humans we tend to allow negative stereotyping to determine our thoughts, feelings, and our lives in general. People start to believe things that are not true and teach others that it is acceptable and tolerable to do so. According to April Kemick, from the University of Toronto, it has been proven that stereotyping has a

The dangers of these stereotypes are clear. Stereotyping can lead to depression, a loss of self-meaning, and even a subservience to these stereotypes, which only enforces them. These moral distortions of stereotyping are one of the evils plaguing modern-day society. In his essay “Stereotypes and Stereotyping: A Moral Analysis”, Lawrence Blum states that stereotypes are “rigid false generalizations (Blum 265).” The rigidity of these stereotypes forces many to stay consistent with those

People have a natural tendency to stereotype, given to them the minute they can form ideas. These stereotypes are seen as wrong by the twenty-first century society of America, something humanity should fight within. They are seen as immoral, a human instinct to be fought. Stereotyping is generally viewed as a negative thing: many people even claim it’s evil, a way to oppress those different from others. It is commonly thought to have a major influence on the way people perceive others, often influencing their perceptions negatively, thus being seen as having a bad effect on the way people view other cultures or ideas. However, other people claim that stereotyping can have a positive influence over the lives of others, and is not innately bad. Thus begging the question; is stereotyping inherently bad, or has it done some good for the world too?

It is explained that “almost any stereotype is true in some way” (73). They can be another form of a mindbug, which can lead one to judge or treat others in a way that they might not have if there was no stereotype associated with them in the first place. When people assume that all stereotypes are true, they begin to judge others based off of those stereotypes. For example, the stereotypes “Old people are forgetful” or “Women are nurturing” or “Asians are good at math” lead people to associate those thoughts with all elderly, all Asians, and all women which can drive our judgement of one another. The human mind tends to group traits together into categories which then affects our behavior. For example, when an individual is sick they go to a clinic, and they can place the doctors and nurses into a category as someone to trust and someone who is going to help them based on their clothing and behavior. This behavior then affects how the patient acts in that

As a society, a majority of people use stereotypes without consciously knowing it. It categorizes people and simplifies our understanding of different groups of society and our surroundings. In this aspect it can be beneficial because being able to identify someone based on gender, ethnicity, culture, etc. you can make assumptions of customary greetings or how to approach a particular situation or custom. Also, stereotypes may help oneself identify with an in-group. In comparison, problems may arise when stereotyping individuals and groups. In extreme cases stereotyping leads to prejudice and discrimination. If we can learn anything from our history, is that stereotyping that leads to prejudice and/or discrimination often have traumatic effects

Have you ever felt awful after stereotyping someone? Does stereotyping only hurt the person who is being stereotyped? Does it hurt both, the person doing the stereotyping and the person who is being stereotyped? In the article ¨Don't Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgment,¨ by Robert L. Heilbroner, informs how stereotyping is harmful to both, the person who is being stereotyped and the one who is doing the stereotyping.

Throughout our American society, there have been topics, or more specifically, issues, that have been implemented in our lives. Whether it be poverty, economic issues, equality, and thus forth, there is one what has always been around for centuries, but has made a bigger impact is stereotyping. This in-particular topic has lead to a multitude of problems, such as social categorization, and the cause of prejudice. The stereotyping propaganda in the United States has caused more problems and attracted more attention than is truly needed.

In the article “How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance” it stated that “reminding African Americans and Latinos about their race before administering academic tests, or telling them that the tests are measures of innate intelligence, can hurt their performance compared with minorities who were not reminded about race and not told that the results reflect inherent ability.” This was said by a sociologist who has done dozens of experiments which shows that when we remember the stereotypes society has for us, we don’t do as good on certain things such as academics. Besides the fact that we don’t do good we also don’t feel good. In addition, in the survey results everyone for the most part mentioned that when they get stereotyped they feel bad about themselves and don’t feel as motivated to do things. People’s self esteem drops and it affects the way they see each other as part of this society in a negative way. This is something that everyone acknowledges but doesn’t do anything about it so it keeps making people feel bad. It makes all of us feel bad in some way and it affects the way we do in activities when we are reminded of these

In general terms, stereotype threat is being at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one’s group (Steele, 1997). “The existence of such a stereotype means that anything that one does or any of one’s features that conform to it make the stereotype more reasonable as a self- characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one’s own eyes” (Steele, 1992). People are stereotyped according to their group. A group can be identified by race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion among others. Stereotypes

The presences of stereotypes are overwhelming and are developed by both the environment a subject is raised in and their family. Stereotypes, which are pervasive throughout different societies, become intertwined in the collective values of the society as justification for all forms of social, economic, and political inequality among groups (Devine and Elliot 2000;Kaplan 2004; Operario and Fiske 2004). As people become more exposed to stereotypes they start to become a permanent part of a person’s life, they begin to stereotype themselves almost always involuntarily.

The first effect of stereotyping is a phenomenon known as “stereotype threat” that occurs in a situation where a person is in fear of unintentionally confirming a negative stereotype. Several studies have been conducted to discover the effects of stereotype threats. For example, I discovered that Toni Schmader, an assistant professor of the UA psychology department, and Michael Johns, a UA graduate (ethos), conducted studies that showed, “college women score lower on tests of mathematical ability, and Hispanic students might score lower on tests of intelligence, not because they have less ability, but because reminders of negative stereotypes temporarily decrease their ‘working memory capacity’ (UA News Services, “Exploring the Negative Consequences of Stereotyping”, UANews.Arizona.edu).” This demonstrates that the students did not do worse on the test due to their lack of skills, but rather due to negative stereotypes. In a similar study by professors Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson, African American and White college students took the same intelligence test under two conditions. In the stereotype threat condition the students were told the test would evaluate their intelligence, and in the