How have my own experiences conforming to stereotypes equipped me to deal with stereotype threats that may be present in my sessions with students as a Speaking Fellow? My past is inundated with the roles I have adopted. As the single female in a combat unit in the military this stereotype manifested as I forfeited my femininity to become one of the boys. I had no desire to be seen as a woman who needed to be coddled (as the men I served with presumed) so I assumed the role of tomboy, eating as they, sporting baggy, unfitted pants to cover my womanly curves, and sacrificing my use of silverware in my efforts to be “just one of the guys.” As I matriculated to Barnard, my identity changed again. Barnard’s slogan is “bold, beautiful, Barnard women,” and as a newcomer, in efforts to fit in, I wanted to assume that “bold” identity. I reverted back to my feminine persona, I ate my food with a fork and I rehashed my old dresses. I was going to be the stereotypically Barnard woman—or at least, what I thought the stereotype was.
My once alternating identity was a product of the tendency we all have to conform. Though I was conscious of my ever-changing personality, many who adapt to suggested stereotypes are often unaware of their actions. I consciously tailored my persona in an effort to feel more comfortable in my environment. It was confusing, and I can relate to others who experience such ambivalence. In academic institutions there are a variety of stereotypes that are prevalent, the gender typecasts that I encountered as well as ethnic stereotypes, both of which can negatively affect classroom dynamics.
In, "Nobody Mean More To Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan," June Jordan, author and beloved educator examines ...
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...ing ethnic backgrounds, chosen gender roles, and contrasting levels of confidence. Just as Jordan we must bolster self-assurance and create an unprejudiced learning environment where all students feel at ease. We must encourage our peers to value their voice and their own identities to create their individuality as a speaker.
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perpetuate in different social groups. Stereotype threat, as defined by Steele, is “being at risk of
In my opinion stereotyping has become like a superstition. Children these days pick up subtle cues from their mothers and use them in the form of stereotypes. Children and parents don’t realize that they are mistaken by falsified beliefs. In my opinion it is not worthy for a person to quickly correlate positive and negative terms with black and white faces or by race. One particular race might get teased with nicknames like rude and disrespectful. Various nationalities are stereotyped as friendly or unfriendly. These situations arise stereotype threat. In this situation s/he has the fear of doing something that would accidently confirm a negative stereotype. Even if the person does not believe the stereotype s/he may experience threat. People find very disturbing to accept stereotypes, they have pain of being treated unfairly. I opine that people perform poorly when they feel they are being stereotyped. They face obscurity in making rational decisions. Stereotype people also build in aggressive action towards others. Thus stereotyping should be controlled and those who are being stereotyped should have different
Steele, C., Spencer, S. J., & Aronson, J. (2002). Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. (In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 34, pp. 379-440. New York, NY: Academic Press.
Jordan, June. "Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan." Harvard Educational Review 58.3 (1988): 363-74. Web.
The integrated threat theory model consists of four types of threats that can lead to prejudice. These threats are: realistic threats, symbolic threats, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes. Realistic threats are posed by the outgroup and have several types of consequence and impact. They can either be threats of war, threats to political and/or economic power of the ingroup, and threats to physical and/or material well-being of the ingroup and its members. Symbolic threats is usually based on perceived group differences in morals, values, standards, beliefs, and attitudes. Symbolic threats are also threats to the ingroup’s worldview and these threats arise because the ingroup believes that its system of values are morally correct.
Gilovich, T., Keltner, D., Chen, S., Nisbett, R. E. (2013). Social psychology. New York, NY:
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.
In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is being perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate. Some hardly even apply to the particular group people it claims to. It is true that how people are perceived has a big impact on how other individuals interact with them; however, people are not perceiving these groups correctly.
Stereotype is a sweeping statement standardized image about a person or group with little or no evidence. The primary purpose is to hurt one’s feelings or to attack one’s character. Have you ever stereotyped someone or felt like you were being stereotyped against? How did being stereotyped affect you, or how did it make you feel once you got to know the person or persons? All kind of people make up our society. Within society, there are a massive amount of groups, most of which have been stereotyped in one way or another. We develop stereotypes when we are reluctant or incapable to obtain all information needed to make fair judgments about people or situations. In the absence of the unknown statistics, stereotyping allow us to “bridge the gaps.” Four of many different groups of people are the prime sources of stereotypes in our society are politicians, tattooed persons, feminists and senior citizens. If the thought of these groups of people mentioned directed some sort of negative icon within you then you are a protagonist of stereotype.
Numerous research and investigations were conducted on the topic of stereotype threat. In the articles connected to this paper, experiments were performed to see how stereotype threat affected test results. During tests some participants were exposed to variables that activated a negative stereotype while others were not. Those exposed to the negative stereotype had lower results. Therefore stereotype threat resulted in weaker performance. It is proven the threat exists but so...
Stereotyping is a form of pre judgement that is as prevalent in today's society as it was 2000 years ago. It is a social attitude that has stood the test of time and received much attention by social psychologists and philosophers alike. Many approaches to, or theories of stereotyping have thus been raised. This essay evaluates the cognitive approach that categorisation is an essential cognitive process that inevitably leads to stereotyping. Hamilton (1979) calls this a 'depressing dilemma'.
Students are experiencing stereotypes at school. School is full of drama and the chances of being stereotyped increases by a tenfold. If
Sparknotes.com, (2014). SparkNotes: Social Psychology: Stereotypes and Prejudice. [online] Available at: http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/socialpsychology/section2.rhtml [Accessed 5 May. 2014].
Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping are important topics at the cause of debating within social psychology. A stereotype is a generalization about a group of people, in which certain traits cling to all members, regardless of actual individual variation (Akert, Aronson, & Wilson, 2010). As humans, people assign objects and individuals into categories to organize the environment. Individuals do this for not only organization, but also survival. Is stereotyping inevitable? That is the question; according to Devine (2007), it is, but Lepore and Brown (2007) have to disagree. Devine believes that “stereotyping is automatic, which makes it inevitable.” On the other hand, Lepore and Brown are not convinced that stereotyping is automatic, and have claimed, after observation, that it depends on the individual.
Most people find stereotypes to be obnoxious, especially when they have to do with sensitive subjects like gender or race. “Stereotyping is a generalization about a group or category of people that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive others and their communication behaviors” (Floyd, 61). Because they underestimate the differences among individuals in a group, stereotyping can lead to inaccurate and offensive perceptions of other people. Although stereotypes are prevalent in almost every society, becoming aware of our perceptions of others, as well as differentiating between both positive and negative stereotypes can help us overcome those stereotypes.