Stereotyping And Stereotyping Behavior

Introduction

“The subtlest and most pervasive of all influences are those which create and maintain the repertory of stereotypes. We are told about the world before we see it. We imagine most things before we experience them.”

―Walter Lippmann

Stereotyping is a very subtle and powerful word which needs to be understood deeply due to its effect on an organization and how it can affect every individual.

We generally stereotype everyone: our parents, teachers and even strangers who walk past us. I think that it is only the degree to which we stereotype people around us that makes us different. The majority of people don´t even recognize that they stereotype or are being stereotyped every single day of their life; however there is a necessity to understand the role of stereotypic behavior in organizations.

Stereotyping is almost a natural process for the Brain and it is only

Judging is the process of forming an opinion or deriving a conclusion about a person/thing.

Stereotyping is the process that happens even before we can see the merits, demerits or qualities in a person or it is the ‘Pre-judging’ phase whereas Judging takes place after consideration of the merits, demerits or qualities in a person.

However both these processes may end up being right or wrong which is not what we are looking into.

Example: A Manager requires a new recruit for the Information Technology team and recruits an Indian for the open position.

Stereotype:

The Manager and co-workers assume that the Indian is knowledgeable in IT and this unfounded assumption might lead to the Indian hire being pre-judged and evaluated with more scrutiny.

Judging :

The Manager sees the performance of the Indian hire and then forms an opinion that the Indian hire is Knowledgeable on IT.

Stereotyping Pros and Cons