Stereotypes

[seeingeyes]

There is a difference between true stereotypes and false ones. For a single mom who's had 4 kids by 4 different men and has not been married to any of them and she's been on social assistance for a long time, that could be a correct stereotype because a LOT of young single women do abuse the system that way and I can see why people would be on guard because of it.

For people like me - I was 29 and had never even been on social services in my life to that point, and was married for several years to the father of my child, I could see how the assumption could happen. Is it so wrong for people to want to know their tax dollars are not going to people who abuse the system we all pay into? Yet it was an incorrect assumption.

So rather than make people stop stereotyping (which we are not going to do anyway), why not have a different response to the stereotyping?

Again, read the article. A lot of stereotyping is actually accurate - and some is inaccurate. It is the inaccurate ones we should stop making, but as a general rule, stereotyping is a method of categorization and makes sorting out social situations a whole lot easier.

I did read it. It never said that stereotyping was "needed". That was your addition.

 

[mkgal1]

There are always going to be stereotypes, though

And there will most likely always be thieves, liars, murderers, and all other behaviours that cause difficulty in our culture. Does that mean we ought to embrace those?

The main issue I have is that they're based on assumption.

It's a choice to choose that short cut instead of taking the time to know the truth (and often those truths aren't our business). Do you really believe that if two single mothers with several children are side-by-side (in life....not literally) that someone with the tendency towards using stereotypes to sum people up is going to take the time to know the personal financial situation of both women? Is it even his business?

Should either mother even be judged by that? What *if* they both were on aid? Does that really sum them up as a person? That's one aspect of their life---in one season of their life. That doesn't make up the whole person.

 

[ValleyGal]

If I had nothing to add to conversations, I would not be here. There is a lot of proof that stereotypes can be positive, and that we all use them as a means of making sense of our social world. IMO, they are psychologically and sociologically necessary and even helpful - when they are true, whether that is negative true or positive true.

 

[ValleyGal]

The main issue I have is that they're based on assumption.

Read the article. They are not based on assumption as there is truth in many of them, as per research. Besides, assumptions are also not all bad.

I think people here could resolve a lot of their issues with stereotypes by simply admitting that they are absolutely useful when they are true, and they are necessary to help us to make sense of our social world.

It is when the stereotypes are not true that they can cause problems.

 

[seeingeyes]

If I had nothing to add to conversations, I would not be here. There is a lot of proof that stereotypes can be positive, and that we all use them as a means of making sense of our social world. IMO, they are psychologically and sociologically necessary and even helpful - when they are true, whether that is negative true or positive true.

What proof?

 

[mkgal1]

So rather than make people stop stereotyping (which we are not going to do anyway), why not have a different response to the stereotyping?

Which is what?

We don't have the ability to stop others from stereotyping.....but we don't have to be guilty of it ourselves.

Part of the problem----or part of the solution. It's our choice. They will know us by our love.

 

[mkgal1]

If I had nothing to add to conversations, I would not be here.

That's sort of random.....or is that directed towards me?

 

[mkgal1]

Read the article. They are not based on assumption as there is truth in many of them, as per research. Besides, assumptions are also not all bad.

I think people here could resolve a lot of their issues with stereotypes by simply admitting that they are absolutely useful when they are true, and they are necessary to help us to make sense of our social world.

It is when the stereotypes are not true that they can cause problems.

Did you read the article I linked about the studies that demonstrate that even positive stereotypes cause people to feel dehumanized and to have disdain for the ones that are summing them up as just part of a group?The Pain of Positive Stereotypes | Psychology Today

 

[ValleyGal]

studies that demonstrate that even positive stereotypes cause people to feel dehumanized and to have disdain for the ones that are summing them up as just part of a group

That's my point about changing how we respond to them. If people did not take stereotypes so personally that they feel dehumanized, that would be part of the solution. It is important to understand why we use them, and how we can use them more effectively rather than simply discount all of them just because the word "stereotype" brings negative connotations - that is, a stereotype about stereotypes. Dispelling the negative myths is also a way to be part of the solution.

 

[ValleyGal]

That's sort of random.....or is that directed towards me?

No, that was in response to seeingeyes:

I did read it. It never said that stereotyping was "needed". That was your addition.

 

[mkgal1]

That's my point about changing how we respond to them. If people did not take stereotypes so personally that they feel dehumanized, that would be part of the solution. It is important to understand why we use them, and how we can use them more effectively rather than simply discount all of them just because the word "stereotype" brings negative connotations - that is, a stereotype about stereotypes. Dispelling the negative myths is also a way to be part of the solution.

But.....that's just it---that's what stereotypes do. They look at people as a group---not individuals (based on knowing just a few things about them. Often times---appearance).

That may be *part* of a solution---but, I also believe we ought to do what we can and not use that as a way to "know" people---because it's not really knowing them.

http://the_english_dept.tripod.com/stereo2.htm

 

[mkgal1]

If, as Christians, our mission is to go and make disciples of all mankind....ISTM that it's in our best interest to know and recognize our own biases and prejudices (which stereotypes create).

Even if we *weren't* Christian.....it certainly allows us to be able to relate better to those around us.

 

[mkgal1]

There is a lot of proof that stereotypes can be positive, and that we all use them as a means of making sense of our social world. IMO, they are psychologically and sociologically necessary and even helpful - when they are true, whether that is negative true or positive true.

What proof?

I thought maybe this post was missed.

 

[mkgal1]

We have both had to buck up against some really negative stereotyping and "prove" ourselves as not part of the stereotype.

I think I may have mentioned this earlier....but there's something called confirmation bias that often gets in the way of our ability to prove ourselves once an opinion is already formed.

Confirmation bias works in insidious ways as it silently confirms the stereotypes (or biases) that surround us. ~Everyday Sociology Blog: What You See Isn’t Always What May Be: Confirmation Bias

....and this is from the Wiki article that VG posted the link for:

Possible prejudicial effects of stereotypes[3] are:

Justification of ill-founded prejudices or ignorance
Unwillingness to rethink one's attitudes and behavior towards stereotyped groups
Preventing some people of stereotyped groups from entering or succeeding in activities or fields[14]

....also from that same article, something that goes along with confirmation bias is illusory correlation (which I've never heard of--but find interesting):

Research has shown that stereotypes can develop based on a cognitive mechanism known as illusory correlation – an erroneous inference about the relationship between two events.[1][28][29] If two events which are statistically infrequent co-occur, observers overestimate the frequency of co-occurrence of these events. The underlying reason is that rare, infrequent events are distinctive and salient and, when paired, become even more so. The heightened salience results in more attention and more effective encoding, which strengthens the belief that the events are correlated.[30][31][32]

 

[mkgal1]

No, that was in response to seeingeyes:

SE wasn't saying that you weren't adding to the conversation....she was saying that you were making extraneous comments (implying that the article included them). This is what she posted:

It never said that stereotyping was "needed".

 

[seeingeyes]

Yes, to clarify, VG, I was asking how stereotyping is "needed". Do you have an example of how stereotyping is necessary?

 

[ValleyGal]

But.....that's just it---that's what stereotypes do. They look at people as a group---not individuals (based on knowing just a few things about them. Often times---appearance).

That may be *part* of a solution---but, I also believe we ought to do what we can and not use that as a way to "know" people---because it's not really knowing them.

Untitled Document

We all belong to groups and it's okay to identify with other groups. Simply being a Christian is belonging to a group. Sometimes Christians are stereotyped as self-righteous, immoral and forcing our beliefs and values onto a secular world. That is mostly a correct stereotype. Sometimes Christians are stereotyped as ultraconservative and resistant to adopt worldly values - that would also be an accurate stereotype. Sometimes Christians are stereotyped as generous helpers for people in need - and that would also be an accurate stereotype. You might not like the first one or two, but that does not make them less true, from the perspective of the person saying it. Does that mean you do not want to identify as a Christian just because we are stereotyped and that stereotype may or may not fit you, and if it does, you may not like that it does?

Social groups are a necessary way of making sense of your social world. They are part of every single culture and likely always will be. For that reason, stereotypes will also never go away....mostly because they are often true, whether you like it or not.

 

[ValleyGal]

I thought maybe this post was missed.

There was all kinds of it in the bibliography of the article.

 

[ValleyGal]

SE wasn't saying that you weren't adding to the conversation....she was saying that you were making extraneous comments (implying that the article included them). This is what she posted:

It never said that stereotyping was "needed".

Right. I added that as my own contribution. Not everything has to be from "out there"....I do have a brain, an education, and enough intelligence to make some pretty reasonable inferences.

 

[mkgal1]

SE wasn't saying that you weren't adding to the conversation....she was saying that you were making extraneous comments (implying that the article included them). This is what she posted:

It never said that stereotyping was "needed".

Right. I added that as my own contribution. Not everything has to be from "out there"....I do have a brain, an education, and enough intelligence to make some pretty reasonable inferences.

Okay. Noted. The information in the article, though, doesn't really support the idea that stereotyping is needed. In fact, I saw a lot of information about how it leads to us having a false perception of reality.

A series of pioneering studies which appeared in the 1930s found no empirical support for widely held racial stereotypes.[10] By the mid-1950s, Gordon Allport wrote that "it is possible for a stereotype to grow in defiance of all evidence".[22]

Research on the role of illusory correlations in the formation of stereotypes suggests that stereotypes can develop because of incorrect inferences about the relationship between two events

One thing the article did say, that I'd not known before, is the idea that stereotyping is a three part process (cognitive; affective; and behavioral). So....if it's being looked at that way....I will agree that they are natural, and done without our conscious awareness---but, in the front of our minds---I think we ought to bring in the statement to our consciousness, "I could be wrong".

As to positive stereotypes (or maybe this is a generalization---I'm not sure now)....I think this is a great article about how we can be lured into a false reality, if we aren't cognizant:
Healing and Hope: RETHINKING CHARM