The word stereotype means

In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people.^[2] It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example, an expectation about the group’s personality, preferences, appearance or ability. Stereotypes are sometimes overgeneralized, inaccurate, and resistant to new information, but can sometimes be accurate.^[3]

While such generalizations about groups of people may be useful when making quick decisions, they may be erroneous when applied to particular individuals and are among the reasons for prejudicial attitudes.

Explicit stereotypes[edit]

An explicit stereotype refers to stereotypes that one is aware that one holds, and is aware that one is using to judge people. If person A is making judgments about a particular person B from a group G, and person A has an explicit stereotype for group G, their decision bias can be partially mitigated using conscious control; however, attempts to offset bias due to conscious awareness of a stereotype often fail at being truly impartial, due to either underestimating or overestimating the amount of bias being created by the stereotype.

Implicit stereotypes[edit]

Implicit stereotypes are those that lay on individuals’ subconsciousness, that they have no control or awareness of.^[4]
“Implicit stereotypes are built based on two concepts, associative networks in semantic (knowledge) memory and automatic activation”. Implicit stereotypes are automatic and involuntary associations that people make between a social group and a domain or attribute. For example one can have beliefs that women and men are equally capable of becoming successful electricians but at the same time many can associate electricians more with men than women.^[5]

In social psychology, a stereotype is any thought widely adopted about specific types of individuals or certain ways of behaving intended to represent the entire group of those individuals or behaviors as a whole.^[6] These thoughts or beliefs may or may not accurately reflect reality.^[7][8] Within psychology and across other disciplines, different conceptualizations and theories of stereotyping exist, at times sharing commonalities, as well as containing contradictory elements. Even in the social sciences and some sub-disciplines of psychology, stereotypes are occasionally reproduced and can be identified in certain theories, for example, in assumptions about other cultures.^[9]

Etymology[edit]

The term stereotype comes from the French adjective stéréotype and derives from the Greek words στερεός (stereos), «firm, solid»^[10] and τύπος (typos), impression,^[11] hence «solid impression on one or more ideas/theories.»

The term was first used in the printing trade in 1798 by Firmin Didot, to describe a printing plate that duplicated any typography. The duplicate printing plate, or the stereotype, is used for printing instead of the original.

Outside of printing, the first reference to «stereotype» was in 1850, as a noun that meant image perpetuated without change.^[12] However, it was not until 1922 that «stereotype» was first used in the modern psychological sense by American journalist Walter Lippmann in his work Public Opinion.^[13]

Relationship with other types of intergroup attitudes[edit]

Stereotypes, prejudice, racism, and discrimination^[14] are understood as related but different concepts.^{[15][16][17][18]} Stereotypes are regarded as the most cognitive component and often occurs without conscious awareness, whereas prejudice is the affective component of stereotyping and discrimination is one of the behavioral components of prejudicial reactions.^[15][16][19] In this tripartite view of intergroup attitudes, stereotypes reflect expectations and beliefs about the characteristics of members of groups perceived as different from one’s own, prejudice represents the emotional response, and discrimination refers to actions.^[15][16]

Although related, the three concepts can exist independently of each other.^[16][20] According to Daniel Katz and Kenneth Braly, stereotyping leads to racial prejudice when people emotionally react to the name of a group, ascribe characteristics to members of that group, and then evaluate those characteristics.^[17]

Possible prejudicial effects of stereotypes^[8] are:

• Justification of ill-founded prejudices or ignorance
• Unwillingness to rethink one’s attitudes and behavior
• Preventing some people of stereotyped groups from entering or succeeding in activities or fields^[21]

Content[edit]

Stereotype content refers to the attributes that people think characterize a group. Studies of stereotype content examine what people think of others, rather than the reasons and mechanisms involved in stereotyping.^[22]

Early theories of stereotype content proposed by social psychologists such as Gordon Allport assumed that stereotypes of outgroups reflected uniform antipathy.^[23][24] For instance, Katz and Braly argued in their classic 1933 study that ethnic stereotypes were uniformly negative.^[22]

By contrast, a newer model of stereotype content theorizes that stereotypes are frequently ambivalent and vary along two dimensions: warmth and competence. Warmth and competence are respectively predicted by lack of competition and status. Groups that do not compete with the in-group for the same resources (e.g., college space) are perceived as warm, whereas high-status (e.g., economically or educationally successful) groups are considered competent. The groups within each of the four combinations of high and low levels of warmth and competence elicit distinct emotions.^[25] The model explains the phenomenon that some out-groups are admired but disliked, whereas others are liked but disrespected. This model was empirically tested on a variety of national and international samples and was found to reliably predict stereotype content.^[23][26]

Functions[edit]

Early studies suggested that stereotypes were only used by rigid, repressed, and authoritarian people. This idea has been refuted by contemporary studies that suggest the ubiquity of stereotypes and it was suggested to regard stereotypes as collective group beliefs, meaning that people who belong to the same social group share the same set of stereotypes.^[20] Modern research asserts that full understanding of stereotypes requires considering them from two complementary perspectives: as shared within a particular culture/subculture and as formed in the mind of an individual person.^[27]

Relationship between cognitive and social functions[edit]

Stereotyping can serve cognitive functions on an interpersonal level, and social functions on an intergroup level.^[8][20] For stereotyping to function on an intergroup level (see social identity approaches: social identity theory and self-categorization theory), an individual must see themselves as part of a group and being part of that group must also be salient for the individual.^[20]

Craig McGarty, Russell Spears, and Vincent Y. Yzerbyt (2002) argued that the cognitive functions of stereotyping are best understood in relation to its social functions, and vice versa.^[28]

Cognitive functions[edit]

Stereotypes can help make sense of the world. They are a form of categorization that helps to simplify and systematize information. Thus, information is more easily identified, recalled, predicted, and reacted to.^[20] Stereotypes are categories of objects or people. Between stereotypes, objects or people are as different from each other as possible.^[6] Within stereotypes, objects or people are as similar to each other as possible.^[6]

Gordon Allport has suggested possible answers to why people find it easier to understand categorized information.^[29] First, people can consult a category to identify response patterns. Second, categorized information is more specific than non-categorized information, as categorization accentuates properties that are shared by all members of a group. Third, people can readily describe objects in a category because objects in the same category have distinct characteristics. Finally, people can take for granted the characteristics of a particular category because the category itself may be an arbitrary grouping.

A complementary perspective theorizes how stereotypes function as time- and energy-savers that allow people to act more efficiently.^[6] Yet another perspective suggests that stereotypes are people’s biased perceptions of their social contexts.^[6] In this view, people use stereotypes as shortcuts to make sense of their social contexts, and this makes a person’s task of understanding his or her world less cognitively demanding.^[6]

[edit]

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In the following situations, the overarching purpose of stereotyping is for people to put their collective self (their in-group membership) in a positive light:^[30]

• when stereotypes are used for explaining social events
• when stereotypes are used for justifying activities of one’s own group (ingroup) to another group (outgroup)
• when stereotypes are used for differentiating the ingroup as positively distinct from outgroups

Explanation purposes[edit]

As mentioned previously, stereotypes can be used to explain social events.^[20][30] Henri Tajfel^[20] described his observations of how some people found that the anti-Semitic fabricated contents of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion only made sense if Jews have certain characteristics. Therefore, according to Tajfel,^[20] Jews were stereotyped as being evil and yearning for world domination to match the anti-Semitic «facts» as presented in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Justification purposes[edit]

People create stereotypes of an outgroup to justify the actions that their in-group has committed (or plans to commit) towards that outgroup.^[20][29][30] For example, according to Tajfel,^[20] Europeans stereotyped African, Indian, and Chinese people as being incapable of achieving financial advances without European help. This stereotype was used to justify European colonialism in Africa, India, and China.

Intergroup differentiation[edit]

An assumption is that people want their ingroup to have a positive image relative to outgroups, and so people want to differentiate their ingroup from relevant outgroups in a desirable way.^[20] If an outgroup does not affect the ingroup’s image, then from an image preservation point of view, there is no point for the ingroup to be positively distinct from that outgroup.^[20]

People can actively create certain images for relevant outgroups by stereotyping. People do so when they see that their ingroup is no longer as clearly and/or as positively differentiated from relevant outgroups, and they want to restore the intergroup differentiation to a state that favours the ingroup.^[20][30]

Self-categorization[edit]

Stereotypes can emphasize a person’s group membership in two steps: Stereotypes emphasize the person’s similarities with ingroup members on relevant dimensions, and also the person’s differences from outgroup members on relevant dimensions.^[24] People change the stereotype of their ingroups and outgroups to suit context.^[24] Once an outgroup treats an ingroup member badly, they are more drawn to the members of their own group.^[31] This can be seen as members within a group are able to relate to each other though a stereotype because of identical situations. A person can embrace a stereotype to avoid humiliation such as failing a task and blaming it on a stereotype.^[32]

Social influence and consensus[edit]

Stereotypes are an indicator of ingroup consensus.^[30] When there are intragroup disagreements over stereotypes of the ingroup and/or outgroups, ingroup members take collective action to prevent other ingroup members from diverging from each other.^[30]

John C. Turner proposed in 1987^[30] that if ingroup members disagree on an outgroup stereotype, then one of three possible collective actions follow: First, ingroup members may negotiate with each other and conclude that they have different outgroup stereotypes because they are stereotyping different subgroups of an outgroup (e.g., Russian gymnasts versus Russian boxers). Second, ingroup members may negotiate with each other, but conclude that they are disagreeing because of categorical differences amongst themselves. Accordingly, in this context, it is better to categorise ingroup members under different categories (e.g., Democrats versus Republican) than under a shared category (e.g., American). Finally, ingroup members may influence each other to arrive at a common outgroup stereotype.

Formation[edit]

Different disciplines give different accounts of how stereotypes develop: Psychologists may focus on an individual’s experience with groups, patterns of communication about those groups, and intergroup conflict. As for sociologists, they may focus on the relations among different groups in a social structure. They suggest that stereotypes are the result of conflict, poor parenting, and inadequate mental and emotional development. Once stereotypes have formed, there are two main factors that explain their persistence. First, the cognitive effects of schematic processing (see schema) make it so that when a member of a group behaves as we expect, the behavior confirms and even strengthens existing stereotypes. Second, the affective or emotional aspects of prejudice render logical arguments against stereotypes ineffective in countering the power of emotional responses.^[33]

Correspondence bias[edit]

Correspondence bias refers to the tendency to ascribe a person’s behavior to disposition or personality, and to underestimate the extent to which situational factors elicited the behavior. Correspondence bias can play an important role in stereotype formation.^[34]

For example, in a study by Roguer and Yzerbyt (1999) participants watched a video showing students who were randomly instructed to find arguments either for or against euthanasia. The students that argued in favor of euthanasia came from the same law department or from different departments. Results showed that participants attributed the students’ responses to their attitudes although it had been made clear in the video that students had no choice about their position. Participants reported that group membership, i.e., the department that the students belonged to, affected the students’ opinions about euthanasia. Law students were perceived to be more in favor of euthanasia than students from different departments despite the fact that a pretest had revealed that subjects had no preexisting expectations about attitudes toward euthanasia and the department that students belong to. The attribution error created the new stereotype that law students are more likely to support euthanasia.^[35]

Nier et al. (2012) found that people who tend to draw dispositional inferences from behavior and ignore situational constraints are more likely to stereotype low-status groups as incompetent and high-status groups as competent. Participants listened to descriptions of two fictitious groups of Pacific Islanders, one of which was described as being higher in status than the other. In a second study, subjects rated actual groups – the poor and wealthy, women and men – in the United States in terms of their competence. Subjects who scored high on the measure of correspondence bias stereotyped the poor, women, and the fictitious lower-status Pacific Islanders as incompetent whereas they stereotyped the wealthy, men, and the high-status Pacific Islanders as competent. The correspondence bias was a significant predictor of stereotyping even after controlling for other measures that have been linked to beliefs about low status groups, the just-world hypothesis and social dominance orientation.^[36]

Based on the anti-public sector bias,^[37] Döring and Willems (2021)^[38] found that employees in the public sector are considered as less professional compared to employees in the private sector. They build on the assumption that the red-tape and bureaucratic nature of the public sector spills over in the perception that citizens have about the employees working in the sector. With an experimental vignette study, they analyze how citizens process information on employees’ sector affiliation, and integrate non-work role-referencing to test the stereotype confirmation assumption underlying the representativeness heuristic. The results show that sector as well as non-work role-referencing influences perceived employee professionalism but has little effect on the confirmation of particular public sector stereotypes.^[39] Moreover, the results do not confirm a congruity effect of consistent stereotypical information: non-work role-referencing does not aggravate the negative effect of sector affiliation on perceived employee professionalism.

Illusory correlation[edit]

Research has shown that stereotypes can develop based on a cognitive mechanism known as illusory correlation – an erroneous inference about the relationship between two events.^[6][40][41] If two statistically infrequent events co-occur, observers overestimate the frequency of co-occurrence of these events. The underlying reason is that rare, infrequent events are distinctive and salient and, when paired, become even more so. The heightened salience results in more attention and more effective encoding, which strengthens the belief that the events are correlated.^[42][43][44]

In the intergroup context, illusory correlations lead people to misattribute rare behaviors or traits at higher rates to minority group members than to majority groups, even when both display the same proportion of the behaviors or traits. Black people, for instance, are a minority group in the United States and interaction with blacks is a relatively infrequent event for an average white American.^[45] Similarly, undesirable behavior (e.g. crime) is statistically less frequent than desirable behavior. Since both events «blackness» and «undesirable behavior» are distinctive in the sense that they are infrequent, the combination of the two leads observers to overestimate the rate of co-occurrence.^[42] Similarly, in workplaces where women are underrepresented and negative behaviors such as errors occur less frequently than positive behaviors, women become more strongly associated with mistakes than men.^[46]

In a landmark study, David Hamilton and Richard Gifford (1976) examined the role of illusory correlation in stereotype formation. Subjects were instructed to read descriptions of behaviors performed by members of groups A and B. Negative behaviors outnumbered positive actions and group B was smaller than group A, making negative behaviors and membership in group B relatively infrequent and distinctive. Participants were then asked who had performed a set of actions: a person of group A or group B. Results showed that subjects overestimated the frequency with which both distinctive events, membership in group B and negative behavior, co-occurred, and evaluated group B more negatively. This despite the fact the proportion of positive to negative behaviors was equivalent for both groups and that there was no actual correlation between group membership and behaviors.^[42] Although Hamilton and Gifford found a similar effect for positive behaviors as the infrequent events, a meta-analytic review of studies showed that illusory correlation effects are stronger when the infrequent, distinctive information is negative.^[40]

Hamilton and Gifford’s distinctiveness-based explanation of stereotype formation was subsequently extended.^[43] A 1994 study by McConnell, Sherman, and Hamilton found that people formed stereotypes based on information that was not distinctive at the time of presentation, but was considered distinctive at the time of judgement.^[47] Once a person judges non-distinctive information in memory to be distinctive, that information is re-encoded and re-represented as if it had been distinctive when it was first processed.^[47]

Common environment[edit]

One explanation for why stereotypes are shared is that they are the result of a common environment that stimulates people to react in the same way.^[6]

The problem with the ‘common environment’ is that explanation in general is that it does not explain how shared stereotypes can occur without direct stimuli.^[6] Research since the 1930s suggested that people are highly similar with each other in how they describe different racial and national groups, although those people have no personal experience with the groups they are describing.^[48]

Socialization and upbringing[edit]

Another explanation says that people are socialised to adopt the same stereotypes.^[6] Some psychologists believe that although stereotypes can be absorbed at any age, stereotypes are usually acquired in early childhood under the influence of parents, teachers, peers, and the media.

If stereotypes are defined by social values, then stereotypes only change as per changes in social values.^[6] The suggestion that stereotype content depends on social values reflects Walter Lippman’s argument in his 1922 publication that stereotypes are rigid because they cannot be changed at will.^[17]

Studies emerging since the 1940s refuted the suggestion that stereotype contents cannot be changed at will. Those studies suggested that one group’s stereotype of another group would become more or less positive depending on whether their intergroup relationship had improved or degraded.^[17][49][50] Intergroup events (e.g., World War II, Persian Gulf conflicts) often changed intergroup relationships. For example, after WWII, Black American students held a more negative stereotype of people from countries that were the United States’s WWII enemies.^[17] If there are no changes to an intergroup relationship, then relevant stereotypes do not change.^[18]

Intergroup relations[edit]

According to a third explanation, shared stereotypes are neither caused by the coincidence of common stimuli, nor by socialisation. This explanation posits that stereotypes are shared because group members are motivated to behave in certain ways, and stereotypes reflect those behaviours.^[6] It is important to note from this explanation that stereotypes are the consequence, not the cause, of intergroup relations. This explanation assumes that when it is important for people to acknowledge both their ingroup and outgroup, they will emphasise their difference from outgroup members, and their similarity to ingroup members.^[6] International migration creates more opportunities for intergroup relations, but the interactions do not always disconfirm stereotypes. They are also known to form and maintain them.^[51]

Activation[edit]

The dual-process model of cognitive processing of stereotypes asserts that automatic activation of stereotypes is followed by a controlled processing stage, during which an individual may choose to disregard or ignore the stereotyped information that has been brought to mind.^[19]

A number of studies have found that stereotypes are activated automatically. Patricia Devine (1989), for example, suggested that stereotypes are automatically activated in the presence of a member (or some symbolic equivalent) of a stereotyped group and that the unintentional activation of the stereotype is equally strong for high- and low-prejudice persons. Words related to the cultural stereotype of blacks were presented subliminally. During an ostensibly unrelated impression-formation task, subjects read a paragraph describing a race-unspecified target person’s behaviors and rated the target person on several trait scales. Results showed that participants who received a high proportion of racial words rated the target person in the story as significantly more hostile than participants who were presented with a lower proportion of words related to the stereotype. This effect held true for both high- and low-prejudice subjects (as measured by the Modern Racism Scale). Thus, the racial stereotype was activated even for low-prejudice individuals who did not personally endorse it.^[19][52][53] Studies using alternative priming methods have shown that the activation of gender and age stereotypes can also be automatic.^[54][55]

Subsequent research suggested that the relation between category activation and stereotype activation was more complex.^[53][56] Lepore and Brown (1997), for instance, noted that the words used in Devine’s study were both neutral category labels (e.g., «Blacks») and stereotypic attributes (e.g., «lazy»). They argued that if only the neutral category labels were presented, people high and low in prejudice would respond differently. In a design similar to Devine’s, Lepore and Brown primed the category of African-Americans using labels such as «blacks» and «West Indians» and then assessed the differential activation of the associated stereotype in the subsequent impression-formation task. They found that high-prejudice participants increased their ratings of the target person on the negative stereotypic dimensions and decreased them on the positive dimension whereas low-prejudice subjects tended in the opposite direction. The results suggest that the level of prejudice and stereotype endorsement affects people’s judgements when the category – and not the stereotype per se – is primed.^[57]

Research has shown that people can be trained to activate counterstereotypic information and thereby reduce the automatic activation of negative stereotypes. In a study by Kawakami et al. (2000), for example, participants were presented with a category label and taught to respond «No» to stereotypic traits and «Yes» to nonstereotypic traits. After this training period, subjects showed reduced stereotype activation.^[58][59] This effect is based on the learning of new and more positive stereotypes rather than the negation of already existing ones.^[59]

Automatic behavioral outcomes[edit]

Empirical evidence suggests that stereotype activation can automatically influence social behavior.^{[60][61][62][63]} For example, Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996) activated the stereotype of the elderly among half of their participants by administering a scrambled-sentence test where participants saw words related to age stereotypes. Subjects primed with the stereotype walked significantly more slowly than the control group (although the test did not include any words specifically referring to slowness), thus acting in a way that the stereotype suggests that elderly people will act. And the stereotype of the elder will affect the subjective perception of them through depression.^[64] In another experiment, Bargh, Chen, and Burrows also found that because the stereotype about blacks includes the notion of aggression, subliminal exposure to black faces increased the likelihood that randomly selected white college students reacted with more aggression and hostility than participants who subconsciously viewed a white face.^[65] Similarly, Correll et al. (2002) showed that activated stereotypes about blacks can influence people’s behavior. In a series of experiments, black and white participants played a video game, in which a black or white person was shown holding a gun or a harmless object (e.g., a mobile phone). Participants had to decide as quickly as possible whether to shoot the target. When the target person was armed, both black and white participants were faster in deciding to shoot the target when he was black than when he was white. When the target was unarmed, the participants avoided shooting him more quickly when he was white. Time pressure made the shooter bias even more pronounced.^[66]

Accuracy[edit]

Stereotypes can be efficient shortcuts and sense-making tools. They can, however, keep people from processing new or unexpected information about each individual, thus biasing the impression formation process.^[6] Early researchers believed that stereotypes were inaccurate representations of reality.^[48] A series of pioneering studies in the 1930s found no empirical support for widely held racial stereotypes.^[17] By the mid-1950s, Gordon Allport wrote that, «It is possible for a stereotype to grow in defiance of all evidence.»^[29]

Research on the role of illusory correlations in the formation of stereotypes suggests that stereotypes can develop because of incorrect inferences about the relationship between two events (e.g., membership in a social group and bad or good attributes). This means that at least some stereotypes are inaccurate.^{[40][42][44][47]}

Empirical social science research shows that stereotypes are often accurate.^[67][68] Jussim et al. reviewed four studies of racial stereotypes, and seven studies of gender stereotypes regarding demographic characteristics, academic achievement, personality and behavior. Based on that, the authors argued that some aspects of ethnic and gender stereotypes are accurate while stereotypes concerning political affiliation and nationality are much less accurate.^[69] A study by Terracciano et al. also found that stereotypic beliefs about nationality do not reflect the actual personality traits of people from different cultures.^[70]

Marlene MacKie argues that while stereotypes are inaccurate, this is a definition rather than empirical claim – stereotypes were simply defined as inaccurate, even though the supposed inaccuracy of stereotypes was treated as though it was an empirical discovery.^[71]

Effects[edit]

Attributional ambiguity[edit]

Attributive ambiguity refers to the uncertainty that members of stereotyped groups experience in interpreting the causes of others’ behavior toward them. Stereotyped individuals who receive negative feedback can attribute it either to personal shortcomings, such as lack of ability or poor effort, or the evaluator’s stereotypes and prejudice toward their social group. Alternatively, positive feedback can either be attributed to personal merit or discounted as a form of sympathy or pity.^[72][73][74]

Crocker et al. (1991) showed that when black participants were evaluated by a white person who was aware of their race, black subjects mistrusted the feedback, attributing negative feedback to the evaluator’s stereotypes and positive feedback to the evaluator’s desire to appear unbiased. When the black participants’ race was unknown to the evaluator, they were more accepting of the feedback.^[75]

Attributional ambiguity has been shown to affect a person’s self-esteem. When they receive positive evaluations, stereotyped individuals are uncertain of whether they really deserved their success and, consequently, they find it difficult to take credit for their achievements. In the case of negative feedback, ambiguity has been shown to have a protective effect on self-esteem as it allows people to assign blame to external causes. Some studies, however, have found that this effect only holds when stereotyped individuals can be absolutely certain that their negative outcomes are due to the evaluators’s prejudice. If any room for uncertainty remains, stereotyped individuals tend to blame themselves.^[73]

Attributional ambiguity can also make it difficult to assess one’s skills because performance-related evaluations are mistrusted or discounted. Moreover, it can lead to the belief that one’s efforts are not directly linked to the outcomes, thereby depressing one’s motivation to succeed.^[72]

Stereotype threat[edit]

Stereotype threat occurs when people are aware of a negative stereotype about their social group and experience anxiety or concern that they might confirm the stereotype.^[77] Stereotype threat has been shown to undermine performance in a variety of domains.^[78][79]

Claude M. Steele and Joshua Aronson conducted the first experiments showing that stereotype threat can depress intellectual performance on standardized tests. In one study, they found that black college students performed worse than white students on a verbal test when the task was framed as a measure of intelligence. When it was not presented in that manner, the performance gap narrowed. Subsequent experiments showed that framing the test as diagnostic of intellectual ability made black students more aware of negative stereotypes about their group, which in turn impaired their performance.^[80] Stereotype threat effects have been demonstrated for an array of social groups in many different arenas, including not only academics but also sports,^[81] chess^[82] and business.^[83]

Not only has stereotype threat been widely criticized by on a theoretical basis,^[84][85] but has failed several attempts to replicate its experimental evidence.^{[85][86][87][88]} The findings in support of the concept have been suggested by multiple methodological reviews to be the product of publication bias.^[88][89]

Self-fulfilling prophecy[edit]

Stereotypes lead people to expect certain actions from members of social groups. These stereotype-based expectations may lead to self-fulfilling prophecies, in which one’s inaccurate expectations about a person’s behavior, through social interaction, prompt that person to act in stereotype-consistent ways, thus confirming one’s erroneous expectations and validating the stereotype.^[90][91][92]

Word, Zanna, and Cooper (1974) demonstrated the effects of stereotypes in the context of a job interview. White participants interviewed black and white subjects who, prior to the experiments, had been trained to act in a standardized manner. Analysis of the videotaped interviews showed that black job applicants were treated differently: They received shorter amounts of interview time and less eye contact; interviewers made more speech errors (e.g., stutters, sentence incompletions, incoherent sounds) and physically distanced themselves from black applicants. In a second experiment, trained interviewers were instructed to treat applicants, all of whom were white, like the whites or blacks had been treated in the first experiment. As a result, applicants treated like the blacks of the first experiment behaved in a more nervous manner and received more negative performance ratings than interviewees receiving the treatment previously afforded to whites.^[93]

A 1977 study by Snyder, Tanke, and Berscheid found a similar pattern in social interactions between men and women. Male undergraduate students were asked to talk to female undergraduates, whom they believed to be physically attractive or unattractive, on the phone. The conversations were taped and analysis showed that men who thought that they were talking to an attractive woman communicated in a more positive and friendlier manner than men who believed that they were talking to unattractive women. This altered the women’s behavior: Female subjects who, unknowingly to them, were perceived to be physically attractive behaved in a friendly, likeable, and sociable manner in comparison with subjects who were regarded as unattractive.^[94]

A 2005 study by J. Thomas Kellow and Brett D. Jones looked at the effects of self-fulfilling prophecy on African American and Caucasian high school freshman students. Both white and black students were informed that their test performance would be predictive of their performance on a statewide, high stakes standardized test. They were also told that historically, white students had outperformed black students on the test. This knowledge created a self-fulfilling prophecy in both the white and black students, where the white students scored statistically significantly higher than the African American students on the test. The stereotype threat of underperforming on standardized tests affected the African American students in this study.^[95]

In accountancy, there is a popular stereotype which represents members of the profession as being humorless, introspective beancounters.^[96][97]

Discrimination and prejudice[edit]

Because stereotypes simplify and justify social reality, they have potentially powerful effects on how people perceive and treat one another.^[98] As a result, stereotypes can lead to discrimination in labor markets and other domains.^[99] For example, Tilcsik (2011) has found that employers who seek job applicants with stereotypically male heterosexual traits are particularly likely to engage in discrimination against gay men, suggesting that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is partly rooted in specific stereotypes and that these stereotypes loom large in many labor markets.^[21] Agerström and Rooth (2011) showed that automatic obesity stereotypes captured by the Implicit Association Test can predict real hiring discrimination against the obese.^[100] Similarly, experiments suggest that gender stereotypes play an important role in judgments that affect hiring decisions.^[101][102]

Stereotypes can cause racist prejudice. For example, scientists and activists have warned that the use of the stereotype «Nigerian Prince» for referring to Advance-fee scammers is racist, i.e. «reducing Nigeria to a nation of scammers and fraudulent princes, as some people still do online, is a stereotype that needs to be called out».^[103]

Self-stereotyping[edit]

Stereotypes can affect self-evaluations and lead to self-stereotyping.^[8][104] For instance, Correll (2001, 2004) found that specific stereotypes (e.g., the stereotype that women have lower mathematical ability) affect women’s and men’s evaluations of their abilities (e.g., in math and science), such that men assess their own task ability higher than women performing at the same level.^[105][106] Similarly, a study by Sinclair et al. (2006) has shown that Asian American women rated their math ability more favorably when their ethnicity and the relevant stereotype that Asian Americans excel in math was made salient. In contrast, they rated their math ability less favorably when their gender and the corresponding stereotype of women’s inferior math skills was made salient. Sinclair et al. found, however, that the effect of stereotypes on self-evaluations is mediated by the degree to which close people in someone’s life endorse these stereotypes. People’s self-stereotyping can increase or decrease depending on whether close others view them in stereotype-consistent or inconsistent manner.^[107]

Stereotyping can also play a central role in depression, when people have negative self-stereotypes about themselves, according to Cox, Abramson, Devine, and Hollon (2012).^[8] This depression that is caused by prejudice (i.e., «deprejudice») can be related to group membership (e.g., Me–Gay–Bad) or not (e.g., Me–Bad). If someone holds prejudicial beliefs about a stigmatized group and then becomes a member of that group, they may internalize their prejudice and develop depression. People may also show prejudice internalization through self-stereotyping because of negative childhood experiences such as verbal and physical abuse.^[108]

Substitute for observations[edit]

Stereotypes are traditional and familiar symbol clusters, expressing a more or less complex idea in a convenient way. They are often simplistic pronouncements about gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and they can become a source of misinformation and delusion. For example, in a school when students are confronted with the task of writing a theme, they think in terms of literary associations, often using stereotypes picked up from books, films, and magazines that they have read or viewed.

The danger in stereotyping lies not in its existence, but in the fact that it can become a substitute for observation and a misinterpretation of a cultural identity.^[109] Promoting information literacy is a pedagogical approach that can effectively combat the entrenchment of stereotypes. The necessity for using information literacy to separate multicultural «fact from fiction» is well illustrated with examples from literature and media.^[110]

Role in art and culture[edit]

Stereotypes are common in various cultural media, where they take the form of dramatic stock characters. The instantly recognizable nature of stereotypes mean that they are effective in advertising and situation comedy.^[111] Alexander Fedorov (2015) proposed a concept of media stereotypes analysis. This concept refers to identification and analysis of stereotypical images of people, ideas, events, stories, themes, etc. in media context.^[112]

The characters that do appear in movies greatly affect how people worldwide perceive gender relations, race, and cultural communities. Because approximately 85% of worldwide ticket sales are directed toward Hollywood movies, the American movie industry has been greatly responsible for portraying characters of different cultures and diversity to fit into stereotypical categories.^[113] This has led to the spread and persistence of gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural stereotypes seen in the movies.^[89]

For example, Russians are usually portrayed as ruthless agents, brutal mobsters and villains in Hollywood movies.^{[114][115][116]} According to Russian American professor Nina L. Khrushcheva, «You can’t even turn the TV on and go to the movies without reference to Russians as horrible.»^[117] The portrayals of Latin Americans in film and print media are restricted to a narrow set of characters. Latin Americans are largely depicted as sexualized figures such as the Latino macho or the Latina vixen, gang members, (illegal) immigrants, or entertainers. By comparison, they are rarely portrayed as working professionals, business leaders or politicians.^[101]

In Hollywood films, there are several Latin American stereotypes that have historically been used. Some examples are El Bandido, the Halfbreed Harlot, The Male Buffoon, The Female Clown, The Latin Lover, The Dark Lady, The Wise Old Man, and The Poor Peon. Many Hispanic characters in Hollywood films consists of one or more of these basic stereotypes, but it has been rare to view Latin American actors representing characters outside of this stereotypical criteria.^[118]

Media stereotypes of women first emerged in the early 20th century. Various stereotypic depictions or «types» of women appeared in magazines, including Victorian ideals of femininity, the New Woman, the Gibson Girl, the Femme fatale, and the Flapper.^[88][119]

Stereotypes are also common in video games, with women being portrayed as stereotypes such as the «damsel in distress» or as sexual objects (see Gender representation in video games).^[120] Studies show that minorities are portrayed most often in stereotypical roles such as athletes and gangsters (see Racial representations in video games).^[121]

In literature and art, stereotypes are clichéd or predictable characters or situations. Throughout history, storytellers have drawn from stereotypical characters and situations to immediately connect the audience with new tales.^[122]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Hilton, James L.; von Hippel, William (1996). «Stereotypes». Annual Review of Psychology. 47 (1): 237–271. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.47.1.237. PMID 15012482.
• Stuart Ewen, Elizabeth Ewen, Typecasting: On the Arts and Sciences of Human Inequality. New York (Seven Stories Press) 2006
• Stereotype & Society A Major Resource: Constantly updated and archived
• Regenberg, Nina (2007). «Are Blonds Really Dumb?». The Inquisitive Mind (3). Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
• Are Stereotypes True?
• Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 978-0679313182. OCLC 55682258..
• Crawford, M. & Unger, R. (2004). Women and Gender: A Feminist Psychology. McGraw Hill New York. New York. 45–49.
• Spitzer, B.L.; Henderson, K; Zavian, M. T. (1999). «Gender differences in population versus media body sizes: A comparison over four decades». Sex Roles. 40 (7/8): 545–565. doi:10.1023/a:1018836029738. S2CID 55674520.

External links[edit]

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!

Asked by: Donnell Labadie

Score: 4.5/5
(8 votes)

The term stereotype comes from the French adjective stéréotype and derives from the Greek words στερεός (stereos), «firm, solid» and τύπος (typos), impression, hence «solid impression on one or more ideas/theories.»

Who came up with the term stereotype?

The term stereotype was first coined by Lippmann in 1922 (as cited in Dovidio, Hewstone, Glick & Esses, 2010) in order to describe a social group’s perceived characteristics. Furthermore, according to Allport (1954, p. 191), a stereotype is an ‘an exaggerated belief associated with a category.

What is the real meaning of stereotype?

A stereotype is a fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person or thing. … If someone is stereotyped as something, people form a fixed general idea or image of them, so that it is assumed that they will behave in a particular way.

What is the meaning of stereotype in simple words?

A stereotype is a preconceived notion, especially about a group of people. … You have probably heard stereotypes: commonly held ideas or preconceptions about specific groups. You most often hear about negative stereotypes, but some are positive — the stereotype that tall people are good at basketball, for example.

What is the main idea of stereotype?

In social psychology, a stereotype is a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people. By stereotyping we infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group have.

35 related questions found

Updated on February 04, 2021

Stereotypes are characteristics imposed upon groups of people because of their race, nationality, and sexual orientation. These characteristics tend to be oversimplifications of the groups involved and, even if they seem «positive,» stereotypes are harmful.

Did You Know?

Even when framed as «positive,» stereotypes of certain groups have negative effects. An example of this is the myth of the «model minority» that has attached itself broadly to people of Asian descent.

Stereotypes Vs. Generalizations

While all stereotypes are generalizations, not all generalizations are stereotypes. Stereotypes are widely circulated oversimplifications of a group of people, while generalizations can be based more on personal experience, not a widely accepted factor.

In the United States, certain racial groups have been linked to stereotypes such as being good at math, athletics, and dancing. These stereotypes are so well-known that the average American wouldn’t hesitate if asked to identify which racial group in this country, for example, has a reputation for excelling in basketball. In short, when one stereotypes, one repeats the cultural mythology already present in a particular society.

On the other hand, a person can make a generalization about an ethnic group that hasn’t been perpetuated in society. For example, someone who meets a few individuals from a particular country and finds them to be quiet and reserved may say that all citizens of the country in question are quiet and reserved. A generalization such as this doesn’t allow for diversity within groups and may result in stigmatization and discrimination of groups if the stereotypes linked to them are largely negative.

Intersectionality

While stereotypes may refer to a specific gender, race, religion, or country, often they link various aspects of identity together. This is known as intersectionality. A stereotype about Black gay men, for example, would involve race, gender, and sexual orientation. Although such a stereotype targets a specific group rather than Black people as a whole, it’s still problematic to insinuate that Black gay men are all the same. Too many other factors make up any one person’s identity to ascribe a fixed list of characteristics to him.

Differing stereotypes can also be present within larger groups, resulting in things like gender-based stereotypes within the same race. Certain stereotypes apply to Asian Americans generally, but when the Asian American population is broken down by gender, one finds that stereotypes of Asian American men and Asian American women differ. For example, the women of a racial group may be deemed attractive due to fetishization and the men in that same racial group may be viewed as the exact opposite.

Even stereotypes applied to a racial group become inconsistent when members of that group are broken down by origin. Stereotypes about Black Americans differ from those about Black people from the Caribbean or Black people from African nations.

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I have to say I wasn’t a huge fan of ‘Star Wars’, and I’m still not, really, but you have to acknowledge that there’s a huge fan base for it, and these people are really sweet. You can’t stereotype a ‘Star Wars’ fan.

Ralph Brown

PRONUNCIATION OF STEREOTYPE

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF STEREOTYPE

Stereotype is a verb and can also act as a noun.

WHAT DOES STEREOTYPE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of stereotype in the English dictionary

The first definition of stereotype in the dictionary is a method of producing cast-metal printing plates from a mould made from a forme of type matter in papier-mâché or some other material. Other definition of stereotype is the plate so made. Stereotype is also an idea, trait, convention, etc, that has grown stale through fixed usage.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO STEREOTYPE

PRESENT

PAST

FUTURE

CONDITIONAL

IMPERATIVE

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH STEREOTYPE

SYNONYMS OF «STEREOTYPE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «stereotype» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF STEREOTYPE

Find out the translation of stereotype to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «STEREOTYPE»

The term «stereotype» is quite widely used and occupies the 28.471 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of stereotype

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «STEREOTYPE» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «STEREOTYPE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word stereotype.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «STEREOTYPE»

Discover the use of stereotype in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to stereotype and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «STEREOTYPE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term stereotype is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Stereotype [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/stereotype>. Apr 2023 ».

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French stéréotype. Printing sense is from 1817, the “conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image” sense is recorded from 1922 in Walter Lippmann’s book Public Opinion.^[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛ.ɹi.əˌtaɪp/, /ˈstɪə.ɹi.əˌtaɪp/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun[edit]

stereotype (countable and uncountable, plural stereotypes)

1. A conventional, formulaic, and often oversimplified or exaggerated conception, opinion, or image of (a person or a group of people).

   Synonyms: cliché, platitude

2. (psychology) A person who is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.
3. (printing) A metal printing plate cast from a matrix moulded from a raised printing surface.

   Synonym: cliché

4. (software engineering) An extensibility mechanism of the Unified Modeling Language, allowing a new element to be derived from an existing one with added specializations.

Derived terms[edit]

• metastereotype
• stereotypic
• stereotypical

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

stereotype (third-person singular simple present stereotypes, present participle stereotyping, simple past and past participle stereotyped)

1. (transitive) To make a stereotype of someone or something, or characterize someone by a stereotype.

   • 1957, Karl Popper, chapter 24, in The Poverty of Historicism, FIRST HARPER TORCH BOOK edition, page 90:

     Unable to ascertain what is in the minds of so many individuals, he must try to simplify his problems by eliminating individual differences: he must try to control and stereotype interests and beliefs by education and propaganda.

2. (transitive, printing) To prepare for printing in stereotype; to produce stereotype plates of.

   to stereotype the Bible

3. (transitive, printing) To print from a stereotype.
4. (transitive, figurative) To make firm or permanent; to fix.
   • 1887, George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, Scotland as it was and as it is

     Powerful causes tending to stereotype and aggravate the poverty of old conditions.

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Adjective[edit]

stereotype

1. absolute definite natural masculine singular of stereotyp.

What do we mean by stereotype?

A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image. noun

One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type. noun

A metal printing plate cast from a matrix molded from a raised printing surface, such as type. noun

To make a stereotype of. transitive verb

To characterize by a stereotype. transitive verb

To give a fixed, unvarying form to. transitive verb

To print from a stereotype. transitive verb

To cast a stereotype plate from: as, to stereotype a page or a form.

To prepare for printing by means of stereotype plates: as, to stereotype the New Testament.

To fix or establish firmly or unchangeably.

The duplicate, in one piece of type metal, of the face of a. collection of types composed for printing. noun

Loosely, an electrotype. noun

The art of making plates of fixed metallic types; the process of producing printed work by means of such plates. noun

Of or pertaining to stereotype, or stereotyping, or stereotype printing: as, stereotype work: stereotype plates.

A plate forming an exact faximile of a page of type or of an engraving, used in printing books, etc.; specifically, a plate with type-metal face, used for printing. noun

The art or process of making such plates, or of executing work by means of them. noun

A block, usually of wood, to which a stereotype plate is attached while being used in printing. noun

To prepare for printing in stereotype; to make the stereotype plates of. transitive verb

Fig.: To make firm or permanent; to fix. transitive verb

A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image. noun

A conventional, formulaic, and often oversimplified or exaggerated conception, opinion, or image of (a person).

A person who is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.

A metal printing plate cast from a matrix moulded from a raised printing surface.

(UML) An extensibility mechanism of the Unified Modeling Language, allowing a new element to be derived from an existing one with added specializations.

An overly simplified, negative description of a people group with a high statistical probability of being true that is inexpedient to progressive platforms. The new regressive left would like you to blind yourself from the fact that these may ring true, which is preventing people from coming together to have an honest dialogue about causality and realistic solutions. Note that the term «stereotype» will not be applied to overly simplified and probable generalizations that are either supportive of progressive policy conclusions, or demonize/dismiss the opposition. Examples of these include: «All Republicans are older, wealthy white men.» «Trump supporters are uneducated and uninformed.» «Women don’t make as much as men because of institutionalized sexism.» Urban Dictionary

N. a small kernel of truth that lies at the bottom of a pillowcase full of shit. Urban Dictionary

A term used to define all people of a certain belief into a mostly negative category that may only reflect a selected few of the racial demographics. All people of all nationalities have been victims of being stereotyped, even those whom have made most of the stereotypes of other people.
Note: Most stereotypes are involuntarily lived out by a small segment of who they are made to offend. Here are a few examples of stereotypes. Urban Dictionary

A stereotype is used to catergorize a group of people. People don’t understand that type of person, so they put them into classifications, thinking that everyone who is that needs to be like that, or anyone who acts like their classifications is one. Urban Dictionary

98% of the «definitions» on this website.
See: ‘ICP’
People should stop posting how much they hate stuff. It’s not hard, just dont listen to it. Urban Dictionary

A stereotype is a label given to a person, a prequisite judgement. It goes hand in hand with bias, prejudice, and discrimination. Urban Dictionary

An assumption of a certain group of ppl. the simpsons area perfect example of a stereotypical town. where homer is the fat lazy husband with a dead end job, marge is the housewife that doesnt have a life outside the house, bart is the trouble maker boy, lisa is the forgotten, misunderstood girl, maggie is the quiet baby who never speaks, mr. burns is the evil bossman, apu is the foreign shop keeper, and the polie are lazy ppl who eat donuts all day. all the other characters are self explanitory.
stereotypes seem to be an alternative to ppl who dun weanna get to know other ppl. so they classify them with out gettin the facts. Urban Dictionary

Another word for truth.
Everyone likes to act like it’s a bad thing, so they can tell you not to speak truth.
Sometimes, they are incorrect, but 99% of the time, it’s exactly what you think. Urban Dictionary

A belief based on similarities between people of the same race, class, or religion. Usually absolutly true about most of that group, but offends stupid people. Urban Dictionary

A stereotype is someone who judges someone by how they look, their race, how they dress, thier ‘label’, etc. Urban Dictionary

A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of «stereotype» and «prejudice» are often confused with many other different meanings. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions.

Etymology

The term stereotype derives from the Greek words στερεός (stereos), «firm, solid»^[1] and τύπος (typos), «impression,»^[2] hence «solid impression».

It was invented by Firmin Didot in the world of printing; it was originally a duplicate impression of an original typographical element, used for printing instead of the original. American journalist Walter Lippmann coined the metaphor, calling a stereotype a «picture in our heads» saying, «Whether right or wrong (…) imagination is shaped by the pictures seen (…) originally printers’ words, and in their literal printers’ meanings were synonymous. Specifically, cliché was a French word for the printing surface for a stereotype.^[3] The first reference to «stereotype,» in its modern, English use was in 1850, in the noun, meaning «image perpetuated without change.»^[4]

The term, in its modern psychology sense, was first used by Walter Lippmann in his 1922 work Public Opinion^[5] although in the printing sense it was first coined in 1798.

Dynamics

In one perspective of the stereotyping process, there are the concepts of ingroups and outgroups. From each individual’s perspective, ingroups are viewed as normal and superior, and are generally the group that they already associate with, or aspire to join. An outgroup is simply all the other groups. They are seen as lesser than or inferior to the in-groups. An example of this would be: Asians are smarter than Americans. In this example Asians are looked at as being smarter because their education systems are more strict than that of the Americans.

A second perspective is that of automatic and explicit or subconscious and conscious. Automatic or subconscious stereotyping is that which everyone does without noticing. Automatic stereotyping is quickly preceded by an explicit or conscious check which permits time for any needed corrections. Automatic stereotyping is affected by explicit stereotyping because frequent conscious thoughts will quickly develop into subconscious stereotypes.

A third method to categorizing stereotypes is general types and sub-types. Stereotypes consist of hierarchical systems consisting of broad and specific groups being the general types and sub-types respectively. A general type could be defined as a broad stereotype typically known among many people and usually widely accepted, whereas the sub-group would be one of the several groups making up the general group. These would be more specific, and opinions of these groups would vary according to differing perspectives.

Certain circumstances can affect the way an individual stereotypes. Some theorists argue in favor of the conceptual connection and that one’s own subjective thought about someone is sufficient information to make assumptions about that individual. Other theorists argue that at minimum there must be a causal connection between mental states and behavior to make assumptions or stereotypes. Thus results and opinions may vary according to circumstance and theory. An example of a common, incorrect assumption is that of assuming certain internal characteristics based on external appearance. The explanation for one’s actions is his or her internal state (goals, feeling, personality, traits, motives, values, and impulses), not his or her appearance.

Sociologist Charles E. Hurst, «One reason for stereotypes is the lack of personal, concrete familiarity that individuals have with persons in other racial or ethnic groups. Lack of familiarity encourages the lumping together of unknown individuals.»^[6]

Stereotypes focus upon and thereby exaggerate differences between groups. Competition between groups minimizes similarities and magnifies differences.^[7] This makes it seem as if groups are very different when in fact they may be more alike than different. For example, among African Americans, identity as an American citizen is more salient than racial background; that is, African Americans are more American than African.^[8]

Theories on stereotypes

Different disciplines give different accounts of how stereotypes develop: Psychologists may focus on an individual’s experience with groups, patterns of communication about those groups, and intergroup conflict. Pioneering psychologist William James cautioned psychologists themselves to be wary of their own stereotyping, in what he called the psychologist’s fallacy. Sociologists focus on the relations among different groups in a social structure. Psychoanalytically-oriented humanists (e.g., Sander Gilman) have argued that stereotypes, by definition, are representations that are not accurate, but a projection of one to another.

A number of theories have been derived from sociological studies of stereotyping and prejudicial thinking. In early studies it was believed that stereotypes were only used by rigid, repressed, and authoritarian people. Sociologists concluded that this was a result of conflict, poor parenting, and inadequate mental and emotional development. This idea has been overturned; more recent studies have concluded that stereotypes are commonplace.

One theory as to why people stereotype is that it is too difficult to take in all of the complexities of other people as individuals. Even though stereotyping is inexact, it is an efficient way to mentally organize large blocks of information. Categorization is an essential human capability because it enables us to simplify, predict, and organize our world. Once one has sorted and organized everyone into tidy categories, there is a human tendency to avoid processing new or unexpected information about each individual. Assigning general group characteristics to members of that group saves time and satisfies the need to predict the social world in a general sense.

Another theory is that people stereotype because of the need to feel good about oneself. Stereotypes protect one from anxiety and enhance self-esteem. By designating one’s own group as the standard or normal group and assigning others to groups considered inferior or abnormal, it provides one with a sense of worth.

Some psychologist believe that childhood influences are some of the most complex and influential factors in developing stereotypes. Though they can be absorbed at any age, stereotypes are usually acquired in early childhood under the influence of parents, teachers, peers, and the media. Once a stereotype is learned, it often becomes self-perpetuating.

Other theories propose that the praising of intelligence and ability rather than effort and hard work inevitably changes the prospective from a malleable sense of self-worth to a definite concept of self-worth as seen from the individual and others around them.

Another prominent theory is the stereotype content model which attempts to predict behavior based on levels of warmth and competence.

Effects, accuracy, terminology

Stereotypes can have a negative and positive impact on individuals. Joshua Aronson and Claude M. Steele have done research on the psychological effects of stereotyping, particularly its effect on African Americans and women.^[9] They argue that psychological research has shown that competence is highly responsive to situation and interactions with others.^[10] They cite, for example, a study which found that bogus feedback to college students dramatically affected their IQ test performance, and another in which students were either praised as very smart, congratulated on their hard work, or told that they scored high. The group praised as smart performed significantly worse than the others. They believe that there is an ‘innate ability bias’. These effects are not just limited to minority groups. Mathematically competent white males, mostly math and engineering students, were asked to take a difficult math test. One group was told that this was being done to determine why Asians were scoring better. This group performed significantly worse than the control group.^[10]:443

Possible prejudicial effects of stereotypes are:

• Justification of ill-founded prejudices or ignorance
• Unwillingness to rethink one’s attitudes and behavior towards stereotyped group
• Preventing some people of stereotyped groups from entering or succeeding in activities or fields

Stereotypes allow individuals to make better informed evaluations of individuals about whom they possess little or no individuating information, and in many, but not all circumstances stereotyping helps individuals arrive at more accurate conclusions.^[11] Over time, some victims of negative stereotypes display self-fulfilling prophecy behavior, in which they assume that the stereotype represents norms to emulate. Negative effects may include forming inaccurate opinions of people, scapegoating, erroneously judgmentalism, preventing emotional identification, distress, and impaired performance.

Yet, the stereotype that stereotypes are inaccurate, resistant to change, overgeneralized, exaggerated, and destructive is not founded on empirical social science research, which instead shows that stereotypes are often accurate and that people do not rely on stereotypes when relevant personal information is available.^[12] Indeed, Jussim et al. comment that ethnic and gender stereotypes are surprisingly accurate, while stereotypes concerning political affiliation and nationality ^[13] are much less accurate; the stereotypes assessed for accuracy concerned intelligence, behavior, personality, and economic status.^[11] Stereotype accuracy is a growing area of study and for Yueh-Ting Lee and his colleagues they have created an EPA Model (Evaluation, Potency, Accuracy) to describe the continuously changing variables of stereotypes.

Role in art and culture

Stereotypes are common in various cultural media, where they take the form of dramatic stock characters. These characters are found in the works of playwright Bertold Brecht, Dario Fo, and Jacques Lecoq, who characterize their actors as stereotypes for theatrical effect. In commedia dell’arte this is similarly common. The instantly recognizable nature of stereotypes mean that they are effective in advertising and situation comedy. These stereotypes change, and in modern times only a few of the stereotyped characters shown in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress would be recognizable.

In literature and art, stereotypes are clichéd or predictable characters or situations. Throughout history, storytellers have drawn from stereotypical characters and situations, in order to connect the audience with new tales immediately. Sometimes such stereotypes can be sophisticated, such as Shakespeare’s Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Arguably a stereotype that becomes complex and sophisticated ceases to be a stereotype per se by its unique characterization. Thus while Shylock remains politically unstable in being a stereotypical Jew, the subject of prejudicial derision in Shakespeare’s era, his many other detailed features raise him above a simple stereotype and into a unique character, worthy of modern performance. Simply because one feature of a character can be categorized as being typical does not make the entire character a stereotype.

Despite their proximity in etymological roots, cliché and stereotype are not used synonymously in cultural spheres. For example a cliché is a high criticism in narratology where genre and categorization automatically associates a story within its recognizable group. Labeling a situation or character in a story as typical suggests it is fitting for its genre or category. Whereas declaring that a storyteller has relied on cliché is to pejoratively observe a simplicity and lack of originality in the tale. To criticize Ian Fleming for a stereotypically unlikely escape for James Bond would be understood by the reader or listener, but it would be more appropriately criticized as a cliché in that it is overused and reproduced. Narrative genre relies heavily on typical features to remain recognizable and generate meaning in the reader/viewer.

In movies and TV the halo effect is often used. This is when, for example, attractive men and women are assumed to be happier, stronger, nicer people .^[14]

Stereotypes

African

North and South American;

East Asian and South Asian

European

See also: List of terms for white people in non-Western cultures

Middle Eastern, West and Central Asian

Jewish

Main article: Stereotypes of Jews

Sexual orientation

Gender

Other

• Nurse stereotypes
• Animal stereotypes
• Ethnic stereotype
• Physical attractiveness stereotype

See also

• Archetype
• Assumption
• Attribute substitution
• Attributional bias
• Cognitive bias
• Communication noise
• Counterstereotype (antonym)
• Face-ism
• Idée fixe (psychology)
• Implicit stereotypes
• Labeling theory
• Milieu control
• Scapegoating
• Self-Stereotyping
• Social control theory
• Stigmatization
• Negativity effect
• Outgroup homogeneity bias
• Trait ascription bias

References

Bibliography

• Stuart Ewen, Elizabeth Ewen, Typecasting: On the Arts and Sciences of Human Inequality. New York (Seven Stories Press) 2006
• Stereotype & Society A Major Resource: Constantly updated and archived
• Social Psychology Network Stereotyping
• Media Awareness Network. What is a stereotype? Definition, role of stereotyping in the media, more links
• Regenberg, Nina (2007). «Are Blonds Really Dumb?». In mind (magazine) (3). http://beta.in-mind.org/issue-3/are-blonds-really-dumb
• Are Stereotypes True?
• Stereotype Susceptibility: Identity Salience and Shifts in Quantitative Performance, Margaret Shih, Todd L. Pittinsky, Nalini Ambady Research about the effects of ‘positive’ and negative stereotypes on encouraging/discouraging performance.
• Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Toronto: Random House Canada.
• Crawford, M. & Unger, R. (2004). Women and Gender: A Feminist Psychology. McGraw Hill New York. New York. 45-49.*
• Spitzer, B.L., Henderson, K, A., & Zavian, M. T. (1999). Gender differences in population versus media body sizes: A comparison over four decades. Sex Roles, 40, 545-565.*
• Terracciano A, Abdel-Khalek AM, Adám N, et al. (Oct 2005). «National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels in 49 cultures». Science 310 (5745): 96–100. doi:10.1126/science.1117199. PMC 2775052. PMID 16210536. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2775052.

External links

• Social Psychology Network Stereotyping
• Understanding Stereotypes — Educational information about stereotypes.
• SEPARATING the GOLD from the DROSS: a guide to multicultural literature
• Media Awareness Network. What is a stereotype? Definition, role of stereotyping in the media, more links

стереотип, стереотипность, стереотипный, шаблонный, стереотипировать

существительное ↓

глагол

- стереотипировать
- печатать со стереотипа
- придавать шаблонность, делать избитым; опошлять

Словосочетания

the stereotype of the absentminded professor — стереотип рассеянного профессора  
women who don’t fit the stereotype of the good mother — женщины, которые не соответствуют стереотипному представлению о хорошей матери  
the stereotype of the cold, standoffish Brit — стереотип холодного, чопорного британца  
stereotype ideas — стереотипные представления  
plane for bevelling stereotype metal — рубанок для снятия фацета на стереотипах  
plaster stereotype process — процесс изготовления стереотипных гипсовых матриц  
plastic stereotype — пластмассовый стереотип  
preregistering of stereotype mats — предварительная приводка стереотипных матриц  
round stereotype — круглый стереотип  
rubber stereotype — резиновый стереотип  
semicylindrical plate stereotype press — машина для печатания с полукруглых стереотипов  
social stereotype — социальный стереотип  

Примеры с переводом

Возможные однокоренные слова

Формы слова

noun
ед. ч.(singular): stereotype
мн. ч.(plural): stereotypes