The Pros And Cons Of Stereotyping

Stereotyping, discrimination and prejudice are phenomena that motivate animated debate amid the scholars as well as the public. Many ponder on which acts should be deemed discriminatory, when they can come to a conclusion that a decision or a social guideline preference is actually founded on prejudice and the role played by prejudice in creating gender and racial disparities. Also of immense interest are queries regarding how the society should react to these problems and whether they have been dealt with in a pleasing manner. Social psychologists lunge into this dispute equipped with scientific method, hoping to gather evidence that can shed the much needed light on these continuing worries. In particular, this paper seeks to shed some light as to why stereotypes and prejudices occur in the mind of perceivers, as well as the manner and under which circumstances they are most likely to manipulate perceivers’ explicit behavior.

I think it is pretty hard to go through a week without experiencing at least two or three incidents where someone or a group of people is being sterotyped. Whether it comes from jokes, television, comics, or just hearing people talk about other people, stereotyping is around all the time.

“Institutionalized discrimination is bad for people and for societies. Widespread discrimination is also bad for economies. There is clear evidence that when societies enact laws that prevent productive people from fully participating in the workforce, economies suffer” (Kim, n.d.). Even equipped with this knowledge, companies would still rather take their chances and deny a potentially positive asset full benefits. It is because of stereotyping and discrimination that hold not only companies back from thriving, but the average citizen from being able to live comfortably in today’s economy.

Society describes stereotyping as a generalization about a main group of people whereby they attribute a defined set of characteristics based on their appearance. We usually stereotype people when we are unable or unwilling to obtain all of the information that we need to make a fair judgment about people. Furthermore, when we judge people and groups based on our prejudices and stereotypes we start to treat them differently because we are discriminating them without even knowing them. Both authors Debra Merskin and Richard Lapchick convey the importance that stereotypes plays in our society, especially for Indians and athletes.

If we look at stereotyping in terms of sociology and psychology we can get a clearer look what stereotyping is and its types, in which people engage in naturally. People form stereotypes based on social interactions. We can also see how non-thoughtful and thoughtful stereotyping happens. How does it affect human relationships and how customers in a restaurant or a hotel setting affect the customer service that is received. As well as how to manage the guest expectations to understand their values and reduce problems.

A stereotype is a generalization or a pre-judgement awarded to a group of people in order to understand their behavioural pattern. According to Lippman (1922) it can also be considered as the “picture in our heads” to make sense of the world around us.The outsiders of a certain group usually look at the stereotype as a uniform to categorize their limited knowledge. This form of social labelling can render different consequences that can potentially affect the treatment and notion of a certain race.

Even though the old adage, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” remains somewhat true, more overt signs of attractiveness as defined by society positively affects people’s abilities to attract a mate, have healthy platonic relationships, and have rewarding careers. Attractive people are admitted to academic programs more than non-attractive people (Johnson et al. 302). Even in court, attractive people receive less harsh judgments (Johnson et al. 302). Infants and children prefer attractive people to non-attractive people! (Mads 83). People who are attractive command attention and get results in the work place (Nauert). For those not blessed with natural beauty, the option remains to work on a great sense of humor, hone intelligence, and be kind to others. Maybe taking these steps will cause others to look beyond the exterior to the interior treasure.

Stereotype, when used as a transitive verb, by definition means “to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same.” In other cases, when it is used as a noun, it is defined as “an often untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic. Our society defines stereotype as a type of prejudgment one assumes about a person wherein they categorized him/her into a group where other people possess a certain characteristic or trait that he/she shares as well. For some people, belonging to a certain group can do a person some good. Sometimes having these people in your life improves your way of living. You are surrounded by your friends that actually care and support

I think that people see me as the shortest person in the school. People also say that I’m very weak, poor, short, and stupid. I have been called multiple names in my life, but stupid/idiot is what I’ve been called by most. When people called me stupid it would make me think more about myself to prove them wrong. I used to be very short and people would make fun of me for that. Also I used to wear glasses and I would get made fun of for wearing glasses. Also people would say “are you poor because I never knew you were poor.” I also would be made fun of because they thought I wasn’t very strong.

No one chooses to be stereotyped or categorized under a specific title, and no one wants to be the victim of an unfair judgment. Despite those statements, people stereotype others like it is their personal right to label another human being. We all know that its true and we all do it. Everyone in our society makes judgments on people they barely know; sizing up the way they walk, listening to how they talk, and noticing the clothes they wear. It doesn’t take long to pinpoint who we perceive as the less fortunate person wandering the streets, or the lush beauty surrounded by friends and paparazzi who constantly longs for attention. When a person creates a stigma—a disgrace or shameful name to something or someone who is regarded as socially unacceptable—they do not realize the seed that they have planted. When generating such a seemingly harmless idea, most people have no idea how they could or already have impacted a person’s life by potentially lowering their self-esteem, reducing work habits, or even dropping their health. When stereotyping someone, you need to take into account the damage you could be causing them. Stereotyping is a cruel way to base opinions on people because it can negatively affect their physical and mental health.

Do you ever wonder if the stereotypes of women being more scared than men is true? This paper will answer your question. This topic was picked to see if the stereotypes are true. Based on my research my hypothesis is that if women and men have an equal heart rate then the test results will match up based upon age. This is going to show you how different gender and age effects fear. The paper is going to show you the basics of fear, human perception of fear, the pros and cons of fear, and how to control fear.

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.

In the modern era, stereotypes seem to be the ways people justify and simplify the society. Actually, “[s]tereotypes are one way in which we ‘define’ the world in order to see it” (Heilbroner 373). People often prejudge people or objects with grouping them into the categories or styles they know, and then treat the types with their experiences or just follow what other people usually do, without truly understand what and why. Thus, all that caused miscommunication, argument or losing opportunities to broaden the life experience. Stereotypes are usually formed based on an individual’s appearance, race, and gender that would put labels on people.