Stereotypes: concept, types, examples that exist in human life

What it is

Stereotyping began to be considered in the 20s of the twentieth century. Stereotypical thinking is characterized as a narrow paradigm that is stored in the head to save effort required when perceiving certain complex situations and phenomena. Researchers have identified two reasons for the formation of such patterns: the economy of the mind and the desire to preserve the values ​​of a particular group.

This kind of standardization has the following characteristic features:

• sustainability;
• selectivity;
• emotional basis.

Simply put, people use stereotypes so as not to bother themselves with additional thinking. When they manage to find confirmation of their thoughts in the behavior of others, they become even more convinced of the truth of their own or collective conclusions. Stereotyping is a certain replacement for mental activity.

To one degree or another, each of us is subject to such beliefs, with the only difference being that some truly firmly believe in such “postulates,” while others are able to question them.

Various kinds of prejudices influence a person’s worldview, his behavior and encourage a distorted vision of reality. Patterns can be imposed by society or arise based on personal observations. The former are more harmful, since they impose an incorrect way of thinking on the individual and do not allow him to analyze the situation objectively and independently.

But still, without stereotyping, society could not exist. It allows consciousness to build important patterns:

• water may wet;
• it's cold in winter;
• the flame burns.

Knowing this, we do not need to verify our assumptions in practice every time. However, there are stereotypes that affect a person’s consciousness and subconscious, preventing him from living.

You should learn to distinguish prejudices from the real state of affairs. The same concept can be dictated by the internal motivations of an individual or imposed on it by society. In the second case, the individual feels a conflict between his interests and what public opinion requires of him. The desire to follow stereotypes imposed from the outside distorts the vision of the real.

Often we judge others not by their actions, but by what others say about them. For example, a person who occasionally attends church may assume all the characteristics of a real Christian, although in fact this is not the case at all.

How to get rid of the influence of stereotypes?

In order to get rid of the influence of stereotypes, it is necessary to understand which stereotypes are conscious and accepted (that is, necessary and useful), and which ones carry negative messages and are obstacles to the formation of one’s image.

Conscious and accepted stereotypes are those that have been obtained through experience and tested in practice. A person who has his own opinion (unlike stereotypes) does not speak in cliched phrases. If these beliefs fit harmoniously into his picture of the world, then he says: “I believe...” - and can give his own explanation for this. Another option is that a person, having accepted a stereotype, passed it through himself, his experience, and then changed it in a way that suited him.

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Topic 2. Man in the mirror of economics and psychology. Psychological...

...understand, appreciate, use. The most successful metaphorical definition of the cognitive approach in psychology is: “A person is first of all a Thinker, not a Doer,” which emphasizes the recognition of... the source of activity (the influence of internal factors). Those. Human behavior is influenced by internal factors, external factors and a person’s perception of a particular situation. The purpose of a person’s action can be...

In order to “rework” received stereotypes, there is the following exercise, which helps you understand which beliefs are yours and which are someone else’s. Feelings are indicators of acceptance or rejection.

It is necessary to write down all the “catch phrases” that were spoken or that were received non-verbally, that is, through the experience of communicating with different people, and not in the form of words. Read them again. Listen to yourself. What phrases elicited an emotional response? What catches you? Where do feelings and energy appear? Then you need to put an empty chair in front of you and imagine on it the person from whom this “message” was received in one way or another. Try to express what you really feel, what has never been said before.

Each stereotype requires careful emotional processing in order for it to cease to influence. This gives you greater freedom to do what you think is important, do what you really want, and as a result, you will be surrounded by people who share your values ​​and rules.

Stereotyping effect

This is the process of the emergence of a stable belief or image, when, based on one’s own or social practice, a person fixes in the mind some picture of the world.

When encountering a previously unknown phenomenon, the brain begins to analyze the situation and look for something familiar in it. The resulting settings compare a new object with a similar group, which allows you to quickly classify data and, if necessary, retrieve it from memory.

What are stereotypes?

The word "stereotype" comes from the Greek words "stereos" ("solid") and "typos" ("imprint").
An “imprint” is a mental assessment of an object or phenomenon, and it is “solid” because it is pre-formed in people’s minds. Fact: the mental activity of most individuals is based on stereotypes.

Suppose society has imposed on a person the judgment that all Jews are greedy (there are even plenty of jokes on this topic). And he believes it. There are many similar examples: “difficult teenager”, “stronger sex”, “stupid blonde driving” and many other clichés. Belief in them is stereotypical thinking.

Features of stereotypical thinking

Thinking in patterns means not logically justifying information when receiving different experiences, but comparing what is happening with what has already been deposited in the mind. Thus, the world becomes safer for the mind, since it is subject to a certain order.

Psychologist Daria Milai

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Stereotypes can be formed from childhood. These are beliefs, values, norms, reactions, assessments that a child absorbs from adults. When the mind is subject to stereotyping, it interferes with the full and comprehensive development of the personality. Independence and objectivity of views disappear.

Patterned behavior is most often encouraged by society. In other words, when a person lives like everyone else, he does not strive to show individuality - it is so simple, calm and comfortable.

Prejudices allow you to act “automatically” and prevent you from looking at the situation from a different angle. Stereotypical processes presuppose the presence of an attitude: to act only this way and not otherwise. Someone whose behavior is determined by stable patterns has a hard time accepting new things, treating them with distrust and even aggression, since unknown information disrupts internal balance and comfort. He has a specific, proven model of action, and he follows it.

How are gender stereotypes formed?

Research shows that if young children are given different toys, they will not separate them by gender when playing with each other. But only as long as they play alone, without adults. If adults are present during the game, children immediately try to play with toys that correspond to their gender: boys with cars, and girls with dolls. Society consciously and unconsciously creates gender stereotypes. A girl goes to the store and buys a pink stroller because she knows she is pregnant with a girl. Another expectant mother paints her room blue because she's expecting a boy.

There are people for whom stereotypical thinking interferes and causes cognitive dissonance.

In this case, gender stereotypes have neither a negative nor a positive impact on the child. In fact, for the psyche and development of the child, it does not matter at all what kind of stroller the mother chooses - pink or blue. The main thing is that during pregnancy the expectant mother should be calm and pass on this calmness to the child.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros:

• automatic thinking, which helps in everyday matters;
• the ability to group objects and phenomena, facilitating the thought process;
• “pass” to one or another group of society.

Minuses:

• lack of freedom of thought and action;
• development slowdown;
• patterning prevents you from accepting new things and learning;
• the occurrence of errors when the situation is not similar to the usual one, and the individual cannot move away from a stable image;
• gullibility, inability to conduct a critical analysis.

Types of stereotypes in psychology

1. Patterns of perception.
2. Ethnic.
3. Gender.
4. Age.
5. Social.
6. Attitudes in communication.
7. Heterostereotypes.

Stereotyping can be superficial or deep. In the first case, we are talking about beliefs formed by an unfounded assessment of various external characteristics: the emotionality of Italians, the perfectionism of Germans, the laziness of Russians. As a rule, they change due to the development of mankind.

A deeper version of patterning involves patterns of behavior and thinking that are transmitted between people over years or even centuries. For example, many consider the balalaika, matryoshka, vodka and bears to be essential elements of the Russian tradition.

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They are formed under the influence of certain historical events.

Examples of popular stereotypes in society:

• it is impossible to achieve success in a career without “pull”;
• a man never cries;
• children are dependent, helpless;
• Jews are a mercantile people;
• a woman on a ship is a bad omen;
• the higher the price, the better the quality of the product;
• You cannot live with dignity without higher education.

It is believed that the girl is weak, passive and frivolous. She is often perceived as an “appendage” of a man. To compensate for her natural inferiority, she must strive to look more beautiful than everyone else and cunningly capture a rich and attractive husband. Then you need to give birth to children and live off your patron. A lady does not need to be strong or occupy high positions. Otherwise she will feel unhappy.

Representatives of the male sex have also acquired their own stereotypes. There is a common belief that a priori are the main ones in a relationship. Another illusion is that every guy loves football, is obsessed with sex, and they are also terrible womanizers. “All men cheat!” – you’ve probably heard this statement more than once.

Parents are convinced that children should meet their expectations. All teenagers are considered difficult, and their dreams and plans are not taken seriously, attributing their impulses and ideas to “youthful maximalism.” Middle-aged people are in a state of crisis. Old people are sick and unhappy. Young people think only about entertainment and do not respect their elders. Unemployed people are losers, and happiness is impossible without a huge bank account. Not believing in God is madness. Society is replete with stereotypes about what is “good” and what is “bad”, what a “normal” person should be, how and where one can obtain the “correct” knowledge. However, most of them are associated with fears, complexes, weakening of analytical thinking and are not supported by logic.

Social stereotypes: positive and negative sides

Every day of our lives we listen to the people around us when their opinion on a particular issue is important to us.
They share their emotions, feelings and experiences with us or simply answer our questions. And at the same time, we most often believe the words of others, although we understand that their judgments are subjective. In the same way, we try to extract information from newspapers and magazines, books and television programs. But this is exactly how stereotypes are born: a person’s emotional attitude towards any object or phenomenon is superimposed on a certain level of knowledge. Moreover, we begin to encounter social stereotypes that become known thanks to the media, family, friends, and religion from childhood. In psychology, social stereotypes are considered as stable and emotionally charged ideas within a group of people, which together make up a person’s worldview. In other words, the stereotypes we recognize are a kind of picture of the world, which consists of our interests, desires, and habits. According to I. S. Kon, “stereotyping consists of mechanically subsuming a complex individual phenomenon under a simple formula or image that characterizes a class of such phenomena.”

Everything that surrounds a person is involuntarily compared with his inner ideals. That is why stereotypes can be positively or negatively colored, for example, “all children are pure at heart” and “women are stupider than men,” respectively. All stereotypes reflect the peculiarities of perception and simplify the process of cognition of reality by individuals. But this reality in most cases is not objective, because a stereotype is a preconceived opinion. Then on what basis can we conclude whether a stereotype is a positive phenomenon or not?

For quite a long time, stereotypes were considered a negative social phenomenon, but today the analysis takes into account not only their negative, but also their positive features and consequences. The reason for this is that Western and domestic researchers have identified the important functions of stereotypes, which are implemented both at the group and individual levels. These include identifying groups, forming and maintaining their ideologies, and, of course, simplifying thinking. You need to understand that the essence of a stereotype - positive or negative - depends on the current situation, since under some conditions a stereotype can be true, and under others it may be completely untrue. Stereotypes appear under the influence of certain circumstances, which can change at any time, and prejudice will then continue to exist for many years.

On the one hand, stereotypes often help a person make a choice or make a decision that is necessary for him without putting in extra effort. Every person in modern society is sure that they need to respect their elders, protect the little ones, and help their neighbors. Such stereotypes have become norms of human behavior in society, rules, and no one thinks about why a well-mannered person will behave this way and not otherwise. But this is not the only manifestation of the good side of stereotypes. It can be quite difficult to give an adequate assessment of an event or social phenomenon about which there is no necessary information. Accordingly, when there is no opportunity to rely on their personal beliefs, people often resort to stereotypes already entrenched in society, the use of which does not require individual decisions and seems to relieve responsibility from a specific person. It turns out that if they are true, stereotypes sometimes “save” us: by accelerating the processes of cognition, they create the basis for the opinion that a person develops, and help predict the behavior of the people around him.

On the other hand, a social stereotype based on false knowledge imposes a certain model of behavior, which may already be incorrect from the very beginning. We begin to unwittingly avoid public attention when we are constantly told: “Don’t stand out, you need to be like everyone else!” And the words “They will stop respecting you for this” actually sound threatening. This means that through stereotypes it is possible to mislead an individual or a group of people and manipulate them, which can lead to both personal failures and social disagreements and conflicts, fear, contempt, and discomfort. False stereotypes not only do not help determine the correct guidelines in life, but also make a person hostile towards other people: their race, nationality, appearance or way of life. Stereotypes do not reveal similarities between groups of people, but focus on their differences, as a result of which people are divided into “bad” and “good”, “us” and “strangers.”

It turns out that the influence of stereotypes on a person can be extremely negative, but most of them contain false knowledge and become prejudices. Suffice it to recall such stereotypes as “a smart woman cannot be happy in her personal life”, “all French are arrogant and unscrupulous” or “all children are good when they sleep with their teeth against the wall.” These judgments are easy to believe, however, they impose false ideas on us about different groups of people.

For example, gender stereotypes are already so firmly entrenched in people's minds that today men and women are prescribed certain social roles, which makes gender equality almost impossible. You can hear from almost every man that women do not know how to drive, are poorly versed in technology, politics, and the only thing they do best is run a household and raise children. And few people think that among women there are truck drivers, programmers, and politicians, and men are often good at cooking and taking care of children. You can remember another stereotype: “women only need money from men.” Guided by this social stereotype, some men perceive women illusorily, that is, they do not try to understand what their loved one really wants. They do not say warm and affectionate words to them, do not show concern, preferring material things to all this as a means of showing their feelings. The words “I love you” or “I’m sorry” are often replaced with gifts. But gold and diamonds are not the only thing women want. And sooner or later, any woman can get tired of the relationship and end it, despite numerous gifts from the man. It turns out that such a social stereotype can have a very detrimental effect: when a certain image is “tried on” to a certain person, the opportunity to discern individuality in him, to understand the desires and needs of this person disappears, which means that such a stereotype does not allow one to build relationships or maintain them.

All of the above allows us to conclude that social stereotypes play a significant role in the life of a modern person. One can give an endless number of examples of the influence of stereotypes on modern man. However, it is impossible to give an unambiguous assessment of this phenomenon. As a positive phenomenon, a true stereotype structures certain knowledge, which can be important and sometimes even necessary in order to understand the current situation. False stereotypes, guiding our behavior, largely program us to destroy communication and mutual understanding with other people that have not yet been established. And at the same time, society will never be able to get rid of all stereotypes and prejudices, since a person is physically incapable of carefully thinking and weighing every decision or action every time. The negative impact of stereotypes can only be weakened by acquired experience and acquired knowledge. If a person tries to check information received from outside about something, and does not believe everything he hears or read at the same moment and does not make unfounded conclusions, he may well limit this influence, and therefore turn stereotypes into positive phenomena for himself, drawing from the content in them the volume of knowledge has a certain usefulness.

Bibliography:

1. Ageev V.S. Psychological study of social stereotypes // Questions of psychology. – 1996. – No. 1. 95 p. 2. Kon I.S. “Sociology of Youth” In the book: “A Brief Dictionary of Sociology” - M. - 1988. - 164 p.

What are stereotypical attitudes?

Below I will describe in more detail the most common models that exist in the social paradigm.

Gender stereotyping: women and men

• A girl is an emotional, unreasonable, weak creature. Her mission is to give birth, run the house and take care of the man.
• Every girl needs to learn how to apply makeup, dress beautifully and behave properly around boys, in order to later find someone who will fully provide for her and her children.
• Strong ladies are usually loners.
• A single mother is an unhappy, abandoned victim.
• A business woman has no time for family values.
• A man should be a little more handsome than a monkey. His task is to earn money to provide financially for the woman. They don't need love, they only want sex.
• Representatives of the stronger sex should not express their feelings or perform “feminine” duties: cooking, washing.
• A real man must work, support his family, and drive a car.

The above examples of common stereotypes show that many people do not see an individual personality behind a particular person. Due to the huge number of cliches that we receive in childhood, problems arise in relationships: partners are simply not able to hear and understand the position of the other half.

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Children

They are obliged:

• Listen to adults in everything.
• Fulfill the unrealized plans of parents.
• Get good grades in school.
• Go to university in agreement with mom and dad.
• Don't be smart.

At the same time, it is believed that all kids are ugly, they cannot be trusted with anything, they break and spoil things. The younger generation is dissolute, stupid, young people are not aware of what they are doing.

Happiness

The essential elements of a happy life are:

• Money.
• A dream come true.
• High social status.

But in fact, each person has his own system of coordinates, values ​​and desires. You have the right to decide for yourself what is important to you.

"Correct"

• Only in elite universities can you get a good education.
• “Normal” people get jobs regardless of their desires. You don't have to like the activity.
• You need to live in your homeland, and not move to another country.
• It is necessary to follow trends.
• You need to dress in expensive stores.
• You cannot live without faith in God.
• The opinion of an individual must correspond to the position of the majority.

Examples of stereotypes

If you don't fully understand what stereotypes are, consider many examples:

• Men are guided by logic, and women are guided by emotions.
• A man is obliged to support his woman.
• Blondes are stupid.
• A woman can think about several topics at the same time, but a man cannot.
• A woman expects love from a relationship, and a man expects sex.
• All women dream of getting married.
• All women dream of children.
• Men are smarter than women.
• Boys are not allowed to wear pink things.
• It is not normal for a boy to show interest in dolls.
• Homosexuals cannot raise a child with dignity.
• All women manipulate men.
• Women tend to be monogamous, while men tend to be polygamous.
• It is shameful for a man to do household chores; this is a woman’s lot.
• A woman is ashamed to support a family; this is a man’s lot.
• A normal man cannot be shy.
• Mothers should take care of babies.
• Every Chinese can make a telephone.
• Women who dress beautifully hope to “attract a male.”
• All gypsies are swindlers.
• Women themselves provoke rapists.
• A woman should not argue with her husband.
• The husband must make decisions, and the woman must carefully guide him.
• Men should have higher salaries.
• The man doesn't cry.
• Old people are grumpy and annoying.
• There are only drunks in Russia.
• All men cheat.
• All teenagers go through a “difficult age”.
• Every housewife should be able to cook borscht.
• Women have no place in serious positions.
• Hindus love to sing and dance.
• All lesbians are masculine.
• Americans mostly eat fast food.
• Women should strive to become good wives and mothers.
• Beaten by your husband? The woman provoked.
• Has your wife left? They don't leave good husbands.
• All normal women love children.
• Women who have not given birth to children regret in old age, they are all unhappy and no one needs them.
• She gave birth - there will be someone to give a glass of water in old age.
• All politicians are thieves.
• It's always snowing in Siberia.
• It is impossible to get rich honestly.
• If you didn’t serve, you’re not a man.
• A woman can be either smart or beautiful.
• Women driving are dangerous to society.
• It is natural for a woman to know how to cook.
• The British cannot live a day without tea and oatmeal.
• All Italians are loving.
• All Asians are alike.
• India is full of all kinds of infection and dirt.
• It's always cold in Russia.
• It is natural for a man to understand technology.
• The wife takes her husband's surname, and not vice versa.
• Women are prone to commercialism.

What are modern professional stereotypes: examples

These include average images of a follower of a certain profession.

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Policemen

These clichés are fueled by various films and TV series. They arise due to the rare contact of ordinary people with law enforcement officers. The most common speculations:

• every employee is brave and selfless;
• on missions, law enforcement officers constantly fight bandits;
• Moreover, all police officers take bribes.

Doctors

• They don't get sick.
• Regardless of the profile, a good doctor knows the recipe for any disease.
• A real specialist always carries a first aid kit with him to provide first aid to a person on the street or in a public place.

Lawyers

• They always wear a suit.
• Too many people enroll in law school, and it’s difficult for graduates to find work.
• They earn a large amount.

How do they form?

Patterns pass from one generation to the next. Already in childhood, parents lay down norms of behavior in us, teach us how to act and think correctly. People are greatly influenced by the society and cultural characteristics of their country of residence. These clichés help to adapt to life in society, but dependence on stereotyping leads to the fact that a person does not develop fully; it is easier for him to act and think as is customary than to take risks and encounter new life models.

How they change and what it depends on

Over time, stereotypical behavior changes its vector. What was once unacceptable is now commonplace. This can be observed in the example of the transformation of people’s attitudes towards the institution of marriage.

The change in the role model of women is also obvious. Now she can move up the career ladder on an equal basis with a man and occupy positions that were previously considered exclusively male.

Why are stereotypes needed and how are they used?

Stereotypical thinking is inherent in every person. It was not given to us just like that. Stereotypes help save mental effort and time by helping us make quick decisions in repetitive situations.

For example, historically the division into enemies and friends was necessary. Stereotypes contributed to the automatic perception of strangers as a source of threat. This function is often in demand today.

Think about what you do when you wake up. You probably have a certain set of actions that you perform on autopilot. During this time, your brain adjusts to your daily routine - this is much more important than thinking about every step. Or, for example, when you enter a room, you see a table and a chair. You don't have to think about why you need them, you already know how to use them.

Did you know that Albert Einstein had five identical sets of clothes in his wardrobe for every day? The great physicist completed such a set so as not to waste time in the morning choosing an outfit.

The time and energy saved can be redirected to more important tasks. Mark Zuckerberg recently resorted to such tricks.

Stereotypes help free up mental resources for thinking about other thoughts and performing primitive sorting of information. Stereotypes also help us understand how to dress and behave depending on the situation and place.

Role in the life of the individual

To carry out this or that activity, an individual needs to process information and analyze it. In addition, it is important for him to feel part of a certain community.

However, more often than not, stereotypical thinking greatly limits people and prevents them from expanding their horizons. Because of our patterns, we miss a large number of opportunities, do not pay attention to prospects, and make mistakes in assessing those around us.

How to fight stereotypes

On the one hand, templates help relieve the mind from excessive stress. But at the same time they become limiters of thought.

• You should not blindly believe everything that is accepted in society. Check the data received from outside and draw conclusions based only on your own experience.
• Highlight those behavior patterns that exist in you, but have not been practically confirmed. Try to prove them or abandon them.
• Find a refutation of those attitudes that have no factual or logical basis.

How do stereotypes appear?

Stereotyping is a normal, healthy cognitive mechanism that is present in all societies and cultures. Stereotypes are a feature of human cognitive activity; they were found even in primitive tribes of ancient people. Without stereotypes we would not survive; they help us process information and take shortcuts in thinking. That is, instead of conducting a long chain of conclusions, our brain chooses to follow a certain pattern embedded in it. Stereotypes are formed in humans under the influence of the environment. For example, a mother says to her daughter, who came back dirty from a walk: “Why are you so dirty? You’re a girl!” And my daughter forms a stereotype that all girls should be clean and washed, that is, a certain generalization is formed about girls.

All stereotypes are divided into positive and negative. For example, you may have a positive stereotype that you should drink a cup of coffee in the morning, otherwise you will take a long time to wake up.

For a stereotype to become deeply rooted in our perception, we must hear it from a person we trust, and preferably hear it many times. But this does not mean at all that parents need to control their every word when raising children - after all, the world in which a child lives is not limited to home and family, and stereotypes will be formed in any case. However, the family can seriously influence their rooting, and parents can reduce the number of negative stereotypes in the child's head.