Stereotypes

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-06-15 07:54pm

A few quick questions.. Dunno what kind of opinion ot have..

1 ~ What are stereotypes (for definition purposes only)?
2 ~ How do we form them?
3 ~ What makes us fit them?

~ver

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-06-15 07:57pm

1 ~ What are stereotypes (for definition purposes only)?
2 ~ How do we form them?
3 ~ What makes us fit them?

1: A perceived standard
2: False assumption or bad encounter record
3: Thats like asking "what makes a person driving a car a car driver?" what makes you fit them is that you fit them. Tho some people do it intentionally. See the dick-float thread..

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-06-15 08:02pm

kojikun wrote:
1 ~ What are stereotypes (for definition purposes only)?
2 ~ How do we form them?
3 ~ What makes us fit them?
1: A perceived standard
2: False assumption or bad encounter record
3: Thats like asking "what makes a person driving a car a car driver?" what makes you fit them is that you fit them. Tho some people do it intentionally. See the dick-float thread..

The point was this: What makes people put other people into stereotypes?

~ver

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2003-06-15 08:10pm

verilon wrote:
kojikun wrote:
1 ~ What are stereotypes (for definition purposes only)?
2 ~ How do we form them?
3 ~ What makes us fit them?
1: A perceived standard
2: False assumption or bad encounter record
3: Thats like asking "what makes a person driving a car a car driver?" what makes you fit them is that you fit them. Tho some people do it intentionally. See the dick-float thread..
The point was this: What makes people put other people into stereotypes?

~ver

i would guess repeated observed behaviours..for example...you see a load of hell's angels and you assume they're up to no good. Why? because they look like wrestlers, heavy metallers arnie in t2, and they're reknowned for causing a ruckus.

Imagine when the first guy went from england went to ireland..first guy he met was called paddy, and was drunk, and stupid. He returns home and tells all his upper-class friends, they go to ireland and see the same paddy. Paddy's a common name, so every time they hear it they think of the first one...

Lots of things come together to make stereotypes...usually something's cool at one time or another then it gets parodied, and anything similar to the parody is assumed to be more similar than it probably is.

See public enemy with their shell suits and clocks and stuff, ali g..whatever...

Mark S · Post by **Mark S** » 2003-06-15 10:37pm

Our brains catagorize things into groups. That's how we can recognize different objects for what they are. That's how we have a frame of reference for things we haven't see or things we are seeing for the first time. If we didn't, we would look at each new orange, for example, and have to figure out it was an orange each damn time. We look at something and sort it into the easiest group that we can fit it to. As we learn more about it, we refine that group or fit it into a different, more proper group. Unfortunately this leads to stereotyping because our brain wants to fit people into groups as well. We see enough people acting a certain way and we want to think that everyone else like them will be the same way. Only people are individual and don't fall into nice pidgen holes.

Joe Momma · Post by **Joe Momma** » 2003-06-15 10:59pm

Mark S wrote:Only people are individual and don't fall into nice pidgen holes.

They do if you push hard enough. I mean, there's the usual screaming and bleeding and parts coming off, but you can still do it.

-- Joe Momma

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-06-15 11:14pm

Stereotypes are essentially a misapplication of psychological schemas. Essentially, people generally place objects into certain schemas. For example, pens and pencils of various kinds go into schemas for writing instruments. When I see a new type of pen (let's say I've never seen a Sharpie), then I analyze it and decide whether or not it fits into my schema for a writing instrument. If it does, then I already know essentially how to use the Sharpie. Otherwise I place it in a schema for Sharpies, and the next time I see a new kind of pen I'll look at it to see which schema it fits better, and then use that appropriately. Schemas arae most helpful to people who are learning new tasks and particularly for children who are just beginning to explore the world around them.

Unfortunately, people also tend to place other people into these schemas. Instead of saying "There's Mike Blackburn," they might place me into a schema they've developed for an editor, a writer, an Asian person, an bbs junkie, or a hapa person. Once they get to know me better, then they'll start to see in what ways I continue to fit into their original schema, and in what ways I differ from it.

When you really don't know someone very well, schemas can seem to be accurate, and you may begin to infer things about people. For example, if I meet Juan Carlos tomorrow and find out he's Mexican I might assume that he likes Mexican food, even though he never told me whether or not he liked Mexican food. If I ever invite him to a dinner party, I might make Mexican food only to find out that he can't stand tomales and is lactose intolerant so he can't even eat quesadillas.

The problem is, schemas are remarkably accurate. Like it or not, a majority of people from Mexico will have been exposed to, and come to like, Mexican food. If Juan Carlos comes over and enjoys the food that I made, it will reinforce his placement into the original schema. Additionally, when I place someone in a schema, I am MUCH more likely to find out and then notice what parts of them fit into the schema than I am to recognize in what ways they do not fit the category I have placed them into.

For example, if one of my friends told me before I met Juan Carlos that he was a complete jerk, I might act in a rude manner towards him, since I don't like dealing with jerks and I want to force him away. He would now see that I was a jerk and that I wasn't treating him well, and he would be more likely to try to stay away from me. Thus, both of us would reinforce the other's negative images of the other person. When someone from the World Church of the Creator hires a black person, they might expect the person to be incompetent and give them horrifically boring and menial tasks to do. When the person begins to dislike the work and become lazy and complacent, then the member of the World Church of the Creator will think that his stereotype is correct.

Thus, schemas are okay to use so long as you realize their limitations. Most people from Mexico will like Mexican food. Most editors are articulate. Most Jews do not eat ham. When you have no other information about someone, schemas can form a template around which you can begin to understand them, but you should pay attention to how they are different from the original schema, and be careful that you modify your expectations of their behavior around their actions. If I find Juan Carlos to be a really nice guy, I should go back and talk to my original friend to find out why he though Juan was a jerk. When I find that Juan Carlos is lactose intolerant, I should remember that even though Juan is Mexican he does not like Mexican food.

That's the long and short as to why people tend to stereotype.