Stereotypes In The Workplace Essay

Do you think that someone will be good at a sport because of their race? Michael Scott from the T.V. show The Office thinks so. The Office is a sitcom which depicts the “typical” office environment with Michal Scott being the boss who is very insensitive and says things most people would see as very rude, but he thinks of as normal. In the office Stanley is the only African American and Oscar is the only Latino, these two are typically quiet and are insulted by Michael.

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).

The workplace and its employees are crucial to the population and should treated as such. With 60% of the American population employed (United States' Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017), businesses have a great effect on the country economically and socially. Employment provides people with the means to buy and participant in the economy. Additionally, people strongly center their self-concept around their occupation. For example, Child care workers and teachers define themselves as smart or caring, and painters define themselves as creative. Because the workplace has such a heavy influence on society it is important the workplace is heavily structured and monitored for equality and productiveness.

Throughout the years, racial stereotypes have played a major role in society. Even today, one combines racial stereotypes and prejudice thoughts before one even says a word to the person. Just seeing an African- American man while in a parking lot and pulling out ones phone, can be a simple example of modern-day racial stereotypes.

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

In today’s society it has become a norm to make assumptions of an individual and categorize them into groups that fit them. This would be known as stereotyping, and it occurs everyday and almost everywhere. It can affect someone’s everyday life along with their emotions. A stereotype is a widely held idea or image of a a group of people and is based off of some truth, while misconceptions are based off no evidence at all. Stereotypes can either be positive or negative. Stereotypes exist because that’s how the human brain functions, they see something that repeats within a group of people and that’s how stereotyping begins. An example of a positive stereotype would be that African-Americans are very athletic. However, there can be some negative

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.

It’s no question that women have been put under very specific stereotypes, specifically since the 1800s, women are to “stay home to take care of their children and perform household chores, while the men were the bread earners” which, over the next century, would turn out to be a hard stereotype to break (“The Evolution of Women in the Workforce”). After the Civil War, African American women had to provide for themselves and loved ones, post freedom of slavery, which would result in the joining of the workforce. Married white middle class women would soon join but it wouldn’t come to make a huge impact up until World War II: 1939, where it became vital for women to start working. The Draft of World War II was issued on September 16th, 1940 for men to leave their jobs behind, as well as their families and go on to fight for America’s freedom (The National WWII Museum). After a drastic decrease in the workforce the government then saw an opportunity for the use of women to help with the shortage of supplies and resources used during the war. Propaganda posters would come into play to encourage women to get up and join the working forces, such as Rosie the Riveter. Rosie the Riveter displays a

When social psychologist Claude Steele began writing about the problem of stereotype threats in the 1990s, many other researchers began to do the same thing. Steele offered that when members of certain groups can be stereotyped in a negative way, they will be seen “through the lens of diminishing stereotypes and low expectations” (1999, p.44). According to Kassin, Fein, and Markus, stereotype threat is defined as “The experience of concern about being evaluated based on negative stereotypes about one’s group.” Steele concluded that stereotype threat can be achieved in two ways: reactions to “threat in the

The first, is as hinted on “Mothers”, people use negative stereotypes of black workers. When people see young black female, little stereotypes come in to play just like page 339-340 mentions, lazy, insubordinate, late, belligerent, among other new stereotypes, such as having an attitude, they steal, and they are prone to getting pregnant. Plus, their color plays a huge part, some true black females, do not fit in with a white company, if they do fit in they have to give up their African treats, for a whiter view.

In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into

Most people find stereotypes to be obnoxious, especially when they have to do with sensitive subjects like gender or race. “Stereotyping is a generalization about a group or category of people that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive others and their communication behaviors” (Floyd, 61). Because they underestimate the differences among individuals in a group, stereotyping can lead to inaccurate and offensive perceptions of other people. Although stereotypes are prevalent in almost every society, becoming aware of our perceptions of others, as well as differentiating between both positive and negative stereotypes can help us overcome those 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.

Racial prejudice can often occur during first impressions, as individuals quickly associate a person’s appearance with particular personality characteristics. An example of this association would be to assume that someone who is wearing a hijab is a terrorist or that someone of an Asian decent is highly intellectual. These associations are often used to organise our lives and arrange the overwhelming stimulation, however individuals must be able to discriminate when categorizing is appropriate and when it is inappropriate. To reduce problems of racial prejudice in society, individuals need to recognize and alter these cognitive strategies that are causing them to briefly categorize people inappropriately. Nonetheless, children need to become aware of these destructive cognitive strategies and discouraged from categorizing people as well. Witter, Hammer and Dunn discuss in the textbook Adjust, that stereotypes are frequently automatic customs that occur unintentionally and unconsciously. However, they also express that these automatic customs can be superseded, though it requires awareness from the individual that their prejudgment are flawed. If effort it put forth, individuals can alter their subjective negative perceptions, reforming them towards thoughts of equality and kindness towards all members in society. When individuals become aware that their prejudices may be a result of ignorance, misleading media representations, unhealthy parenting or a combination of

Aside from arising from mental shortcuts, it has also been proposed that stereotypes are a result of group conflict (Sherif, 1966). Regularly, individuals behave in a way that is expected of them in order to uphold the impressions others have of them. Thus, individuals act accordingly and embody the stereotype which is projected upon them (Baumeister & Bushman). The degree to which we rely on stereotypes when establishing judgements of others has been widely investigated in the field of social psychology. Frequently, the harmful consequences of relying on stereotypes is noted with the potential of this tendency to lead to prejudice and discrimination. Furthermore, the variation in the significance of stereotypes has been explored to determine