Stereotypes: What are they and where do they exist!

According to dictionary.com: A stereotype is a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.

Stereotypes are created from perception. Stereotypes are created by society. What I mean by this is: we learn stereotypes from our parents, spouses and the media. Stereotypes come from social learning theory, which basically says that we learn stereotypes socially. Stereotypes come from our own thinking and because we have a thought of how things should be, we tend to group things into categories, therefore we create our own perceptions.  Basically, we create certain qualities (sterotypes) that we assign so that we don't have to think about things or people on an individual basis but rather collectively. This is our own sense of security which allows us to feel good about ourselves because we have created our own little box of how everything is supposed to operate. Through these perceptions, we allow others to dictate how we think and what we think of others. Stereotypes are not always negative, however, most are.

There are many different types of stereotypes whether they are based on sex,race, gender religion, country or social standing. All stereotypes are generalizations about a person, but don't get it confused, all generalizations are not stereotypes. Not all stereotypes are bad, but in a way they both do harm. Stereotypes are said to be based on truths about , the problem comes when it is suggested that a certain group is prone to a certain behavior as if they are born into this particular behavior or stereotype about them.For example, if I say all Asians are good at math. This is a positive stereotype but it is still harmful because I have classified one race of people as being good at math, but what if they aren't good at math? They are forced to live with a perception of them and some even try to live up to this perception. An example of a negative stereotype is all black men are lazy. This stereotype just classified one group of people and it isn't necessarily true. Not all black men are lazy but if the majority thinks this, then this is the perception everyone will believe because society has said all black men are lazy. Below are a few more examples of stereotypes, both negative and positive:

• She is seductive. This is a stereotype that states that a woman is seductive, even though she may not be seductive, but because it is said she is seductive she has just been stereotyped.

• Men are better at sports than women. This is a stereotype that states that a man is more physically fit than a woman, therefore they are stronger than women, which in turn makes them better at sports than women.

• Muslims are terrorist. Because of the 9-11incident and other terrorist activities, we have placed all muslims from a foreign country into the terrorist category.

• All asians do nails. The stereotype is that all asians do is nails and feet. We have stereotyped them as great manicurist and pedicurists and we only look at them as only owning nail shops.

I have outlined for you what I think a stereotype is, however, I would like everyone to give me their input on this subject. Feel free to leave a comment, list other stereotypes or ask a question.

For more information, visit these sites:

 https://www.msu.edu/course/psy/442/stereotypes.ppt/sld008.htm

http://racerelations.about.com/od/understandingrac1/a/WhatIsaStereotype.htm