Stereotypes
A fixed and generalized notion about a particular group or class of people which may not necessarily be true.
What Does Stereotyping Look Like?
Stereotyping can look very different depending on the situation. Sometimes it can look like a classmate choosing to partner up with the student wearing glasses because people who wear glasses are smart. Other times it can look like sales associates treating the customer wearing expensive trendy clothes more favourably because people who wear more expensive clothes are more high class and are rich. Occasionally it can be a serious offence, such as when a manager at a store blames a rough-looking man with tattoos as the person who stole from his store because all rough-looking men with tattoos are troublemakers. Perhaps some of these examples look familiar to you - maybe you have also had a similar train of thought, or know someone who has made similar quick judgments. Stereotypes are not necessarily a sign of bad intentions, but it’s important to be aware of when you make snap judgments based on stereotypes and to reduce those moments so that you can make more informed judgments on the people and world around you.
The Implicit Association Test
The Implicit Association Test (IAT), developed by psychologists at Harvard, was initially developed as a device for exploring the unconscious roots of thinking and feeling. This helps tackle two important issues with accurately measuring stereotypes. Firstly, we may not be comfortable sharing our private attitudes with others, and secondly, we may not always be aware of some of the stereotypes or biases we hold, unconsciously. The IAT overcomes these issues by asking test-takers to be prompt with their responses, not giving them time to cognitively analyse the scenarios, hence bringing unconscious biases to light. For the purposes of understanding this concept, we use some scenarios from the IAT as a quick demonstration of how it works. To begin, please select a category from below to take a demo test on the IAT website.
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
In short, stereotypes are thoughts, prejudice are feelings, and discrimination are behaviours, towards a certain group. Prejudice and discrimation imply negative feelings and actions, but stereotypes are not necessarily negative in nature (though usually when paired with discrimination and prejudice, it becomes negative). For example, there is a common stereotype that all Asians - in particular, East Asians - are smart. This stereotype is not necessarily negative in nature, but it is still a generalized belief about a group of people that does not hold true for every member of the group.
Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination are commonly at work together. One can lead to the other, and sometimes they are at work simultaneously. If you have negative feelings towards a certain group, you may treat them poorly - prejudice leading to discrimination. The reverse can occur as well - if you treat a certain group poorly without realizing it, you may develop negative feelings towards them to rationalize your own mistreatment of the particular group (discrimination leading to prejudice). Having certain (negative) stereotypes about particular groups can also lead to prejudice and/or discrimination since you are reacting to your beliefs.
1. Stereotypes
Generalized beliefs about characteristics that are attributed to a certain group.
2. Prejudice
Unfavourable feelings or emotional reactions towards members of a certain group.
3. Discrimination
Unjust behaviour or treatment towards members of a certain group.
How Do Stereotypes Form?
Why Don't Stereotypes Go Away?
Here's why...
Once a stereotype has formed, it’s actually pretty difficult to get rid of. And no, it’s not that you are a bad person who can’t unlearn the stereotype that has wormed its way into your subconscious, some stereotypes have survived for decades and continue to live on through traditional values, media, and cultural tidbits. The Western society has long outgrown the stereotype of “women belong in the kitchen”, but at some point in time, many years ago, that was still the norm (in fact, some countries today still believe this idea)! Though it’s undeniable that society plays a role in the longevity of stereotypes, learning more about how you unconsciously maintain stereotypes is a great first step into reducing the use of stereotypes.
Mitigation Strategies For Implicit Stereotypes
By taking the Implicit Association Test and reading this section, you have already taken the first step towards being able to mitigate implicit biases, which is acknowledging that implicit biases exist! We will now look at some other methods and strategies that can assist us in overcoming our implicit biases in routine situations.
01
Consider Perspectives
Putting ourselves in the shoes of the people being stereotyped allows us to experience the same situation from their perspective and help us pass better judgements, contrary to what we might have presumed beforehand.
03
Focus On The Individual
Evaluate people by their individual/personal characteristics, rather than those affiliated with their group.
02
Practice Mindfulness
We're more prone to give in to our biases when we're stressed or under pressure. Employing ways to reduce our stress such as meditation and focused breathing allows us to increase mindfulness and reduce the likelihood of succumbing to our implicit biases.
04
Life-long Learning
It is important to understand that mitigating implicit biases and stereotypes is life-long work. We should be open to restarting this process from time to time. This allows us to constantly look for ways to improve.