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Stereotype

   A common definition of stereotype is a standardized mental picture held in common by members of a group that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment of another group.

   This definition clearly reflects the popular perception of stereotypes as inaccurate and negative overgeneralizations. The only problem is that this popular perception is mostly wrong. Most of us who have stereotypical thoughts, nearly all us, have very different notions of groups we stereotype.

   Research conducted by cognitive and social psychologists reveal stereotypes are often contextually based, meaning that we have different stereotypes for different social contexts.

   Are stereotypes accurate? Sometimes they are. For example, men are stereotyped as being more violent than women and data consistently show that a disproportionate number of men commit violent crimes. Sometimes they're not. For example, African American men are often stereotyped as drug users, but data from community studies show a higher percentage of white men report illegal drug use than black men. Often, we don't really know.

   The bottom line is that the existence of a stereotype not only doesn't tell us anything useful about any individual, it doesn't even tell us anything useful about group differences. All they tell us is that there is a common shared perception about a group difference. The perception may be either accurate or false.

    Are stereotypes always negative?

As long as we're not talking about outcomes, stereotypes can describe both positive and negative characteristics, and it is generally true that all groups have both positive and negative stereotypes attached to them. For example, in the United States, the white racial majority group is stereotyped as both smart and unathletic. Stereotypes of Asians as hard working and African Americans as athletic are also considered to be positive stereotypes, but these and other positive stereotypes can still be damaging to the members of the target group.



    Are stereotypes under our conscious control? Sometimes they are, especially if we consciously endorse a particular stereotype, but research shows stereotypes are often unintentional, effortless, and automatic, which is to say that they are not under our conscious control. However, this should not be taken to imply that racial, ethnic, or other social stereotypes are unavoidable. Although people seem to have an innate need to place people and objects into categories, the categories themselves are not an essential part of the natural world. They are social creations that are a function of the cultural and political zeitgeist, and as the zeitgeist changes, so do the categories. As just one example, the multiple categories for classifying biracial people are no longer in vogue.



    Do stereotypes always result in prejudice? The connection between stereotypes and prejudice is probably not as strong as most people think. While it's true that stereotypes often pop into our minds automatically, as long as we have some awareness of the stereotypical thought, we can choose to either endorse it or reject it. We might reject stereotypes for all sorts of reasons, including having information that the stereotype is false or understanding that the reason it is true is because of social conditions rather than group membership. Whatever the reason, when we reject a stereotype, we also make a deliberate choice not to hold a prejudicial attitude. The problem is that we don't necessarily have a conscious awareness of all the stereotypical thoughts that pop up. It's this lack of awareness that can lead to unintended prejudice.



    We are more likely to act on our stereotypes when within social norms or when the situation is sufficiently ambiguous that it is not clear what the socially-appropriate action is.



    Stereotypes have useful functions. Primary among these is that they serve as quick reference in various decision making contexts, and, in so doing, free up our thinking for other things. Yes, these references can get us in trouble. But, to the extent that our understanding of group differences is accurate and we realize that group differences cannot be generalized to individual members, stereotypes can help us navigate our social environment.

   Stereotypes can, in fact, work in some people's favor, especially for members of the dominant group. For example, a Harvard graduate probably benefits from some of the stereotypes associated with Harvard, even if they aren’t even aware of benefiting in this way. Typically, stereotypes are a double-edged sword. They can produce prejudice against one group and prejudice in favor of another. The reality is that both are equally problematic.

Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D.

in Between the Lines

Psychology Today