The World Map Of Useless Stereotypes

Stereotypes have great impacts on people all over the world. One of the reasons why people believe stereotypes blindly is that they know less about the objects. In order to decline the uncertainty of this new object, people choose to believe the stereotypes to feel safer. For the purpose of understanding the world more objectively, we ought to treat stereotypes critically and at least not be convinced of stereotypes blindly anymore.

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).

Cultural influence affects not only the formation of a stereotype, but also its acceptance. According to the tripartite model of attitudes, a stereotype is the cognitive component of prejudiced attitudes. Many contemporary theorists suggest prejudice is an inevitable consequence of the stereotyping process (Devine, 1989). This makes learning attitudes and stereotypes of social groups inevitable. There is strong evidence that stereotypes are established in children’s memories before they have the ability to use cognitive processing to accept or reject the stereotypes. In this developmental process, the stereotype is easier to access for the child than personal beliefs; therefore, the culture an individual lives in makes it impossible not to apply stereotypes in daily life (Devine, 1989).

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

Staples illustrates how the nature of stereotypes can affect how we perceive others around us in either an excessively admirable light or, in his and many other cases, as barbaric or antagonistic. In his introductory

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.

Perceptions and stereotypes are very important aspects of human socialization. They help us decide what is and isn’t appropriate to say, do, or otherwise bring up with others. In the TED Radio Hour,“Playing with Perceptions”, Paul Bloom explains that the problem is not stereotyping itself, it’s how it can be applied. Having preconceived notions about groups of people can often help one navigate life, but while our subconscious’ intentions may be good, often we apply these stereotypes in a rude and offensive manner.

Devine (1989) argues that stereotypes are inevitable on the basis that stereotypes and prejudice coexist and that stereotyping occurs automatically. Devine attempts to prove this hypothesis in three experiments. Devine reasons that “as long as stereotypes exist, prejudice will follow.” This hypothesis is rooted in a correlation. Prejudice and stereotypes are related, however there is no clear evidence of causality; Knowledge of a stereotype does not mean an individual agrees with it.

In our society, when people encounter someone, the first concern appearing in their minds about that person are race, gender, and appearance that are crucial since it can determine how they relate to the person. That consumption mostly comes from stereotype, the firm thoughts that people make about a particular group of people based on observation of several members of the group. The advantage of stereotype is helping people respond rapidly to their situations by applying the same thoughts to the similar experience, but that applying may be incorrect because individuals are different. That black people are good at athletics, or Asians are wealthy are positive stereotypes. Conversely, that Latinos commit illegal immigration, black people are associated with urban crime, or young Asians are gangs are negative stereotypes. That indicates the existence of both positive and negative stereotypes in the society; however, the negative stereotypes are likely

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

Although prejudice and stereotype seem similar, they actually have two different meanings. While stereotyping involves the generalization of a group of people, prejudice involves negative feelings when “they” are in the presence of or even think about members of the group. “Prejudice comes from direct intergroup conflict, social learning, social categorization and other cognitive sources” (Ferguson). Not all stereotypes are negative; there are also positive and neutral stereotypes. Some stereotypes do not slander a race, culture, gender, or religion, but nonetheless generalize a group of people that may or may not be true. For example, some people say that all Asians are smart or good at math. Though people of Asian descent may often be more studious, not all Asians do equally well in school (Floyd, 62). Another common example of a positive stereotype is that all black people are good athletes, dancers, and singers. Though these are positive stereotypes, when people believe them, they don’t take into account that every person is an individual and different. A neutral stereotype

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.

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

Stereotypes have an overwhelming effect especially on the people they are directed towards. Studying stereotypes helps in understanding the factors leading to discrimination of certain people and not others. This is because stereotypes are depictive of opinions that are often passed from one generation to another within a particular culture. Mass media such as television and newspapers form a common source of opinions in the contemporary society (Kotter & Hess, 2012). The media presents messages in steady, repetitive, and compelling manner, making them believable to almost everybody. Stereotyping opinion and depictions from the media can thus have detrimental effects on the

Stereotypes are a natural part of evolutions attempt to survive a constantly changing world. Originally, psychologists and sociologist believed stereotypes were used to navigate the dangerous world in order to survive. Stereotypes allowed people to make quick decisions about rival or threatening groups of people, objects, and animals without having to analyze the costs and benefits of the situation. As the world has evolved, stereotypes continue to aid the human race in making decisions, good or bad, about another social group swiftly and usually unconsciously. Many of the stereotypes used today are not crucial to survival but instead are used to represent social ideas and images about another group of people. However, as useful as stereotypes were for evolution, negativity tends to be associated with the stigmas in todays society.