Stereotyping

Stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations used to describe a person or group. They can exist in virtually unlimited categories. Age, gender, race/ethnicity, religion, hair color, height, weight, residential locale, and occupation are but a few of the possibilities.

Stereotypes act as a means to simplify unfamiliar situations. In initial contact with an unknown person or group, one typically engages in categoric knowing; that is, classification on the basis of limited information obtained by visual and/or verbal clues. These quick judgments may well contain some elements of truth, since they rest on perceived characteristics. The problem is that, once assigned, these stereotyped characteristics virtually take on a life of their own, becoming difficult to eradicate. Moreover, when stereotypes get applied to an entire group, such perceptions ignore the wide range of individual differences within that group.

Another problem with stereotypes is that they affect others' reactions to the one stereotyped. For example, if an individual is labeled as “trouble,” then others may either avoid her or him and/or prejudge that person. Similarly, members of a group labeled as “lazy” may well encounter difficulties in finding jobs.

Stereotypes often form as a response to a particular stimulus. Historically, common factors that initiated common stereotypes were economic and social competition, misunderstood cultural attributes, wartime panic, and fear of one's own group losing power as others gain power. Unsurprisingly, therefore, stereotypes are typically negative in nature, regardless of the group they are describing. The rare exception usually occurs regarding stereotypes of those who hold societal power.

One may argue that stereotypes have an almost instinctive role. When people must assess danger, their decision for flight, fight, or remaining calm must rely on some type of external factor. Usually individuals rely on the stereotypes of an individual's group to deduce whether or not the person is a risk. For instance, if a person were confronted by two strangers—one dressed in ragged, dirty clothes and the second nicely dressed—appearance will dictate the response. Despite the many variances of possibilities as to who these individuals actually are and what they are truly doing, typical stereotypes would lead one to believe the former is potentially dangerous and the latter is someone who is not a threat.

Since stereotypes vary from society to society (sometimes even within one society), one must question their true validity. For example, race is a biological reality, but it is also a socially contrived concept based on physical attributes. Thus, still influenced by its legacy of slavery, the United States has a more [Page 901]rigid racial classification system and greater problems with racism than does Brazil. Similarly, the social construction of gender leads to different stereotypes, perceptions, and social interaction patterns from one society to another. Although male and female are biological concepts, what is considered masculine or feminine varies greatly among societies.

Although stereotypes may be useful at times, they are not always beneficial and are frequently degrading. The problem with the quick assumptions one makes based on stereotypes is that they are often derived from prejudicial beliefs and have little or no merit. Therefore, as these stereotypes are perpetuated, so is the prejudice (i.e., negative feeling) toward that particular group.

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