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Social categorization thesis
Social categorisation is useful
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Social Categorization
Humans are very efficient creatures and we use many tools to compress,
utilize, and retain information. One of the tools that we use is
termed social categorization. Social categorization describes a kind
organization used by people to remember social interactions. By
thinking of people as members of a group rather than as individuals
one can simplify and recall information quickly. As social creatures,
humans come in contact with many people of different colors, shapes,
sizes, and genders so this categorization, to some degree, is useful.
However, it also creates several social problems including, but not
limited to: discrimination, prejudice, racism, and stereotyping.
Social Categories, regardless of their negative aspects, serve a
purpose. They are efficient. Imagine having to sift through a pile of
papers, with no kind of order, to find one specific page of notes. How
hard would that be? It is much better to have the papers organized so
one can find what one is looking for easily (Blaine 15). In several
studies subjects were asked to process traits of a made-up person
while performing an unrelated cognitive task like listening to a
lecture. Some of the subjects were primed with a category (priming is
a procedure where word is flashed rapidly on a computer screen and a
person can't consciously comprehend it). The results showed that the
people who were primed did significantly better on the post-test than
those who were not. This demonstrates that categorizing is not a
cognitive (conscious) behavior; it simply helps us conserve resources
for other cognitive activities, such as memory and attention. Thinking
...
... middle of paper ...
...tegories that are applicable are not used (Blaine 18).
Social categories are culturally important to humans because it
organizes our perceptions. Our culture is what tells us how to
perceive the world and the people in it. Every culture has certain
distinctions or categories that are important to them. Hasidic Jews,
for example, are likely to categorize others according to their
religion as well as gender (two important values in this culture).
Many societies (including ours) are against interracial marriages due
to this cultural importance (Blaine 19).
In closing, we select social categories for several reasons. Those
reasons: noticeable physical characteristics, frequent use, and
cultural importance. Categories are meant to utilize our cognitive
ability and keep social information organized and readily available.
Stereotyping is a normal part of every one’s life. Humans, by nature, classify things. We name animals and classify them by common characteristics but stereotyping can have negative repercussions, and everyone does it. In a recent study it was proven that everyone has an unconscious need to stereotype (Paul). In Junteenth and The Invisible man, Ralph Ellison argues that stereotyping can cause mayhem by making the people become something they are not.
Every group or culture in society has some type of stereotype directed towards it. These stereotypes make the public see gro0ups in one way when in reality they may be the exact opposite of the stereotypes. Because of this many individuals always judge a group based on solely the stereotypes heard about the groups. Also because of this many confuse people as been part of a group only because the individuals either fit the stereotypes of appearance or personality of people who should be part of that certain group. So due to this many may be mistaken as been part of a group when that individual in reality may not be part of the group. These stereotypes also lead to many misunderstandings been formed about the actual individuals who are a part of the groups. Th...
What are Chinese like? Do they all have small eyes? Are all Chinese good at math? Do all Americans like hamburgers? People hold attitudes and beliefs about different groups because they allow us to answer these types of questions quickly. Such beliefs and attitudes are called stereotypes which are mental shortcuts that allow us to organize information about other people quickly. Stereotypes are activated automatically and without conscious awareness, even among people who describe themselves as unprejudiced (Bargh & Chartrand, 1999; Greenwald & Banaji, 1995). There are no explicitly good or bad stereotypes. If you hold negative belief toward people, stereotype turns into prejudice and thus discrimination. Prejudice consists of negative judgments and attitudes toward a person based on their group membership. On the other hand, Discrimination is the inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people based on their group membership. Prejudice becomes discrimination when it translates into the unequal treatment of individuals who are the object of the prejudicial attitudes (Ricardo A. Frazer & Uco J. Wiersma, 2001). People may ask what causes this to happen. We tend to favorite our in-group members more because...
A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. There are many reasons why people stereotypes about certain groups of people form. Some believe stereotypes develop from parents, the first influential teacher in a persons life, but there is more to the puzzle than the individual’s parents. On Michigan State University website titled Stereotypes it states People feel like they need to categorize the world in neat groups that are categorized for three reasons. MSU website claims once an individual has categorized a group that individual no longer needs to consider other individuals information from the group. Secondly, it satisfies the human need to understand the social world; that individual no longer needs to worry about other individuals and the way those individuals act. Lastly, its a way to lift the individual above other groups in society. Most stereotypes derive from these three reasons; peoples insecurity and need to simplify daunting concepts lee...
In January 2013 a prominent national US newspaper quoted former Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, “It doesn’t matter where you come from, but where you are going.” However, In “The Land of Opportunity,” James Loewen discusses how significant inequality is in America. The social class that you are born into will influence your outlook on social class and will also be the social class you stay in (Loewen, 1995. 322). Your social class will determine the opportunities available for you including health, fitness, nutrition, education, SAT scores, medical resources and more (Loewen, 1995. 321-322). Loewen also proposes that the education system in America does not incorporate a proper analysis of our social class (Loewen, 1995. 323). It is necessary for students to be realistic about social inequality because it is linked with history. As students, we are socialized from an early age to believe in the American Dream through media and our loved ones. We were raised to believe our merit determines our success. In reality race and ethnicity, class, and gender play vital roles in determining where an individual ends up in life. The following articles raise inconvenient facts that go against the American Dream.
“Two dangers arise when in-group members have little exposure to out-groups members or knowledge of out-group history” (Ramirez-Berg pg. 18). One is that history can be replaced by other group’s experience. Two is the stereotypical image can be taken as normal or even natural. The five functions of stereotyping that are developed and passed on to others. The first two are focused on a personal level. One is cognitive function of the environment. Two is motivational function protecting values. “The remaining three are at group level, where stereotypes contribute to the creation and maintenance of group beliefs which are then used…” (Ramirez-Berg pg. 28). Three is explaining in a large-scale social event. Four is to justify action. Five is to differentiate in and out
The vizier was the Chief Overseer of the land, sort of like a Prime Minister. Under the vizier were local governors called Nomarks. Nomarks ruled over an area of land called a nome. A nome was like a state or province. Other officials that reported into Pharaoh were the army commander, the chief treasurer, and the minister of public works. These officials each had different responsibilities and powers, but Pharaoh had the final say. Many of the Pharaoh's officials were priests and scribes.
It is apparent why stereotyping exists when considering the brain’s tendency to categorize incoming information perceived from the environment around the individual. This cognitive process of categorizing information makes it obvious why humans organize even themselves into groups, distinguishing characteristics amongst each other. Psychologists also claim that stereotypes are rooted in our unconscious mind, therefore by attempting to change or eliminate stereotyping the result will only be to create an altered version of it. The human ability to refine natural tendencies is the solution to the underlying problem of stereotyping, as well as forming a large portion of thinking about modern learning. Although stereotyping and social categorization have been recognized as a part of human nature, both have negative effects on people’s daily interactions with one other, which can be lessened through proper teaching and
One of these is Social categorization. Based on the name it is very self explanatory, with the social categorization there is the need to divide, categorizing individuals into groups (in and out groups).
Both victims and offenders of crimes of violence tend to be of a younger demographic, and incidents tend to be concentrated in poor neighbourhoods. Therefore, it is important to determine the process through which adolescents come to participate in violent behaviour and the conditions particular to disadvantaged neighbourhoods that foster adolescents’ propensity for violent behaviour. Sutherland’s theory of differential association is particularly useful for explaining the process involved in engaging in deviant behaviour, and it is helpful in explaining why disadvantaged neighbourhoods have the conditions that encourage deviant behaviour. Therefore, by applying socialization theory to crimes of interpersonal violence, this paper will argue
This past Thursday we were placed into groups and asked to assign creatures with different characteristics into groups, followed by sub-groups. Eventually, our sub-groups were composed of one or two individuals. As a group, we realized that categorizing these creatures into further sub-groups was becoming pointless, because they were all unique, aside from the genders and the four colors. While discussing how categorizing the creatures was becoming pointless, we talked about how categorizing people is becoming meaningless as well. We discussed how being categorized as gay, foreign, or religious no longer mattered to people (mainly millennials), in western countries. In an article, I read in high school, the author wrote how millennials
?A definition of race might rely on an outward manifestation such as color or some other physiological sign. Race and ethnicity (and to some degree nationality) also imply a shared socio-cultural heritage and belief system. Finally, race and ethnicity harbor a physiological self-identification. Indeed, this factor is perhaps the most important in defining the identity of an ?ethnic? or ?racial? individual. It implies a conscious desire on the part of a person to belong to an aggregate of people, which possesses unique cultural characteristics, rituals and manners and a unique value system.
People have the tendency to categorize everything, including themselves. It is human nature to categorize things to make a complex world simpler. This categorizing system is known as stereotyping. Stereotyping is an act of the subconscious mind and is not something that can be easily repelled. However, it is completely our decision to act on the subconscious categorizing or not. Discrimination is something that renders the present inaccessible and should be banished from society.
Regardless of whether we all have extensive knowledge of cultural stereotypes. Jeffrey Toobin had expressed self-stereotyping is a part of the self categorization theory described as a process of an outcome of depersonalization , where the self is viewed as an interchangeable member of judgment, through a salient group ” (Toobin,35). Although at any given time, people’s intuition is a mix of situational target of a triggered, with their interception, as it passes down a chain of individuals, of simple complex of social information (Toobin,35-36).
In conclusion, social identity theory suggests that intergroup members will discriminate the out-group to increase their own self-image. There are four main concepts in the theory and they are supported by studies such as Cialdini et al. and Tajfel. The theory has both strengths such as it is supported by large amount of research and it demonstrates the roles of social categorization in intergroup behaviours but also limitations such as aim of the theory to favour situational factors rather than dispositional factors is not supported by evidence and that self-esteem hypothesis is not longer central to social identity theory. Therefore, social identity theory can be used to explain how we from our individual and group identities in terms of “in” and “out” groups. It can also be used to explain why prejudice exists in all human societies.