Among the greatest examples of stereotype inequality are women’s rights and racism, however, recent history has both made light of the situations and has drastically ameliorated them. Consequently, stereotypes are gradually slipping out of the view of the general public. However, is it safe to assume that stereotypes are no longer a major problem? Furthermore, how is our high school youth affected by stereotyping? While some may say that this matter is no longer a major issue, it seems quite the contrary. In preparation of this essay, research was conducted upon the students of our high school. 184 responses were gathered into a pool of results. Of the 184 responses, 132 of the surveys found that the participant were most likely to noticed stereotype pressure upon themselves in the high school environment. To advance upon that, 105 of those 132 noticed the pressure …show more content…
According to our study, 46% of student’s action of choice was to simply ignore it. While most would applaud this act, rather, I see this gesture as an ineffective method to deal with the situation. I speak this because of a recent account of an article by the author Shankar Vedantam that was based on a phenomenon known as stereotype threats. These threats occur when “ people are threatened by a negative stereotype they think applies to them” and causes them to be “subtly biased to live out that stereotype”. This excerpt is pertaining to the definition and thought of the phenomenon as viewed by the psychologist, Claude Steele. Of 22 students that I personally interviewed, 45% of them noticed a difference of performance, both positive and negative, when under the influence of a stereotype. While some students may be able to channel the stereotype to fuel themselves, as Claude implies, most underperform. Speaking from experience, Ignoring and mentally capsulating stereotypes within our head is actually harmful to us as
When he gets offered a job at the University of Washington he develops a special interest in stereotype threat when he sees the minority students underperforming despite have equal or higher SAT scores upon entering the college. This is when he really develops his interest in stereotype threat and with fellow colleagues develops a group of experiments to explore more about this topic. In the first three chapters of this book Steele sets the stage for the coming experiments, and delves into the process of showing us how stereotype threat negatively affects our lives.
Our class was inspired by Shankar Vedantam’s piece to conduct research on stereotypes at Point Loma High School. We were provided questions by Ms. Roberts and asked one person in class and another outside of class. The ages of those interviewed ranged from freshmen to seniors in highschool. Later, we input our data in a Google form and later converted it into a summary data chart and spreadsheet. The results were sorted by ethnicity and gender. Using our results we were able to find trends/similarities of the impact/aftermath and responses of those who were interviewed
Author Shankar Vedantam in his science article “How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance” implies that if a person is subjected to stereotypes it can affect your performance. The author develops this idea by first introducing his theme with a question, then he tells of experiments others have made to support this idea, and finally he wraps it up by telling us that companies and schools are victim to stereotypes and needs to stop. The author’s purpose is to explain to us how stereotypes can affect our lives in order to call out to people so we can lower the rates of stereotyping. The author establishes a educated tone for people who are interested in research and global
Clark’s work on identity and stereotyping has continued and has extended to not only minority groups, but to white-Americans and women as well. Research on prejudices and stereotyping has continued in the area of education. According to Steele (2004), the framework of one’s life can be controlled by their social identity and that individuals must contend to the prejudices and stereotypes that they socially must identify with. Further research suggests that those who are exposed to negative stereotypes are influenced either by believing or mimicking the stereotype or, both (Steele, 2004). Steele (2004) found that stereotypes have contributed to the underperformance of minority groups in the school setting. As suggested by Clark, Steele (2004) also believes that conforming to suggested stereotypes weakens the social identity and brings severe deficits to the ability of student to excel in the classroom. Clark’s ideas on stereotyping were elaborated in the notion that stereotype threat does not only affect minority groups, but can exhibit deficits in any group of individuals. For instance, Steele (2004) offers the example of white vs. black athletes and how in many sports (e.g. basketball or football) white athletes have shown to feel less competent in comparison to black athletes because of
“Everyone wants to be seen. Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone wants to be recognized as the person that they are and not a stereotype or an image.” (Loretta Lynch). What are stereotypes; they are oversimplified opinions of a person/group that is based on culture, race, personality, and interests. Now, who are those who struggle the most with stereotypes? The answer is rather simple: high schoolers. I firmly state, that stereotypes, among all things, shouldn’t be an extra burden in the life of teenagers, especially those already dealing with other problems.
In life, there is a common ground on which most every person can relate. At one time or another, we have all been promoters of or victims of the unremitting nature of stereotypes. According to the Webster’s dictionary, a stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Most stereotypes take on a negative form and are based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, status, and personal beliefs. Generally speaking, the greatest problem that arises with stereotypes is that they judge group of people by the characteristics and actions of their ancestors, rather than on an individual basis. More often than not, these assumptions will
Everyone on the face of the planet knows what it is like to be labeled or stereotyped or placed in category based on appearance, social status, or really anything imaginable. Even if a person lacks the specific understanding of “stereotyping,” they certainly feel the sting resulting from perverse judgement based on minute details such as appearance, interests, nationality, etc. It seems the time stereotypes reach their height of power is during teenage years, possibly due to the nature of the time, being one of self-exploration and discovery. In general (look at that! An example of stereotyping and generalization), teenagers tend to identify against the other in order to establish their own identities.
To many people, both inside and outside of the psychology field, stereotypes are seen as negative overstatements about individuals and groups of people, which may be used to justify discrimination (Allport, 1954/1979). However, there are distinctions to be made between stereotypes and the act of stereotyping. Stereotyping is a natural process that can actually be beneficial. This process has been characterized by different cognitive processes, such as perception and memory, and social theories, like social cognitive theory and self-categorization theory. Stereotypes, on the other hand, are the product of the stereotyping process and are judgements made about individuals or groups. Even though stereotyping is a natural process performed by
Stereotypes are socially constructed, over-generalized views regarding a particular group of persons with certain characteristics that are widely accepted, and usually expected, in a society. The dominant group of a certain society, which in this case is probably Caucasians and men, usually creates these social constructions. Claude M. Steele, a researcher from Stanford University, performed multiple research studies on the idea and psychological effects of stereotypes on its victims. In his studies, he coins the term “stereotype threat” as the “social-psychological predicament that can arise from widely-known negative stereotypes about one's group,” which implies that “the existence of such a stereotype means that anything one does or any of one's features that conform to it make the stereotype more plausible as a self-characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one's own eyes” (Steele 797).
In the U.S, stereotyping is alive and functioning well. A stereotype is a widely held fixed and a simplified idea or image of a given type of a person or a thing. It has been rampant in the country and it has a negative impact. Stereotyping occurs when people judge others based on their gender, their job, their cultural, religious or ethnic background. It has resulted in unfair discrimination of people in the country. People also miss important aspects of the people they stereotype (Inzlicht et al., 230). Through stereotyping, people are not able to achieve their full potential and the country's social development slows down. There are many suggestions that have been placed forward in an effort to end stereotyping,
In this world there are many things people are guilty of, one of those guilt’s is stereotyping others , even if it wasn’t meant in a harmful are negative way we all have been a victim or the aggressor . This paper will discuses what stereotypes are, how they affect people and how stereotypes can affect society. However, the common factor in either situation is that no good comes from stereotyping others.
Stereotype threat, or the fear of being judged through the lens of a negative stereotype, has been shown to hurt one’s performance (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999; Steele, Spencer & Aronson, 2002). It is clear, from years of research, that individuals who are threatened about a negative stereotype concerning their ability do not perform to their potential when stereotypes are
In conclusion, this are reasons why people shouldn’t stereotype because it will affect anyone in many different ways, for example it can endanger their life. People who stereotypes should just try to keep every comment positive to other people and not hurt them because it can affect their performance in school or work. Many young teens and young adults take stereotype in a good way or bad, but in all honesty, we as a world should put it to a
Stereotypes can simply be defined as: ‘’ A stereotype is ‘’…a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people. ‘’ (Cardwell, 1996).’’ Saul McLeod, (2008, Updated 2015) Stereotypes. http://www.simplypsychology.org/jatz-braly.html Although this quick definition does not clarify where stereotypes may stem from. As seen in our text book there is debate on if stereotypes are innate or learnt thus, making some stereotypes deeply rooted. Looking a stereotype in a broader term, I have decided to base my example on stereotypes in schools and the effects they might have in order to better illustrate the material that I have learned. Stereotypes can take many forms and can be witness in many different areas, notably
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.