Written By: Becky Kospanova
One of the basic characteristics of people in any country and at any age is the tendency to develop stereotypes about particular groups or classes of people. Webster dictionary defines stereotypes as “conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially: a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment.” While some stereotypes can be positive (such as “all babies are cute,” “all Hispanics are family oriented,” “Asians are good at math,” , etc.), majority of them are not and can lead to unnecessary misunderstanding and unfounded judgment.
Cognitively, tendency to form stereotypes allows us to make sense of the world by providing some generalizations and explanations, be they true or not. It is much easier to process
information by grouping it in categories, especially in modern society when we are constantly bombarded by a lot of information every day. Just imagine how difficult, or rather practically impossible, it would be if you had to form fresh opinion every time you encounter a new person, new situation, or a new thing. As such, stereotypes serve useful purpose by saving people time and energy and providing quick clarification. They are, in short, are “coping mechanisms” which help us to simplify the surrounding world.
As long as a person realizes that his first impression about somebody might stem from stereotypes and is open to changing his opinion when getting to know that person better, stereotypes are not necessarily bad. Moreover, stereotypes reinforce in-group and out-group mentality which, while sounds bad, is not necessarily so. People are conditioned to belong to a group based on some prevalent attribute such as race, nationality, social position, profession, and such. Consequently, stereotypes promote the sense of belonging and community to some degree. However, more often than not people emphasize negative consequences of stereotypes.
Sadly, it is true that majority of stereotypes bear negative undertone and can lead a person to become prejudiced and judgmental. It is easy to assign positive characteristics to an in-group while downgrading the traits of an out-group. Even when one encounters a person from another group who defies stereotypical expectations, he considers that person to be rather an exception than a rule. Consequently, stereotypes are very difficult to erase.
Generally, stereotypes are based upon race, nationality, gender, social position, outward appearance, and profession. Practically everybody has heard at some point such stereotypes as, “Russians drink a lot of vodka,” “Asians are bad drivers,” “Most Muslims are terrorists,” “Blonds are dumb,” “Men are better workers than women,” “Blacks are only good at sports and music,” “Lawyers are greedy,” , etc. While some particular person might have never met a Russian in his life before, it is quite possible that he will automatically remember about vodka if he meets one. It is inevitable that everybody has some preconceived notion about other people from out-groups. However, one of the worst consequences of stereotyping is resulting aggressive behavior. There are many stories about people being attacked solely on the basis of their nationality or appearance with little regard to their actual persona. We, as a society as whole, need to strive to eradicate negative stereotyping and encourage open mindedness and consideration.
