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Stereotyping As A Stereotype

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Stereotyping is commonly underestimated in its power. The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we preconceive decisions on people just by their appearance. The Oxford Dictionary (2010) defines ‘stereotypes’ as “the widely but fixed and oversimplified image or an idea of a particular type of a person or a thing”. The dictionary of Cambridge (2012) also adds, that this set of ideas, that people have, are frequently wrong (p.703). Psychologists Craig McGarty, Vincent Y. Yzerbyt and Russell Spears (2002) identify three principles: First, stereotypes are “aids to explanation”, meaning that they help the perceiver make sense of a situation. The second principle is the “energy-saving devices”, intimating that stereotypes reduce the effort …show more content…

True or false, positive or negative, stereotyping often leads to social categorization.

The phenomena of racism and sexism can clearly be observed through discrimination, as the members of certain breeds or representatives, different races are stigmatized. Prejudice is considered as a negative attitude of human behavior. However, it is observed that it still is present among the people and can be manifested up to behaviors of violence and racism. A famous research for racial stereotyping was published by Katz and Braly (1933, as cited by McLeod, 2008), when they asked students from the Princeton University of the USA, to complete a questionnaire, exploring stereotypical attitudes of Americans towards different races. The investigation illustrated, that the students, who most were white Americans, held clear and mainly negative stereotypes, having only a few students expressing any difficulty in responding to the questions. The research has reported that the students had created an image of each ethnic group. They described Jews as cunning and mercenary, Japanese as sly and Negroes as lazy. A considerable agreement in the trails selected was, for example, white Americans were seen as hard-working, progressive and emulous, while African Americans were seen as sluggard, benighted and musical. In conclusion, the research explains that the ethnic stereotypes are often spread by certain social groups. In 1951 and 1967, studies noted changes

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