Stereotypes why exist

Reverse the sex roles, and the impressions we have of the sexes change, too Eagley and Steffen, Race, like gender, determines many of the roles people hold in this country.

People of color are over-represented in low-paying jobs, and therefore can seem to White people to be somehow destined for them. To the extent, then, that we are more likely to see members of particular groups in some roles, and less likely to see them in other roles, we develop stereotypes as a result.

Stereotypes can shift as roles shift, sometimes in surprising ways. In hindsight, of course, it is easy to understand the sociological factors that prevented Black students from playing for the best teams, or kept the best Black teams from playing for championships. At the time, however, it seemed to Schneider and his friends like a logical deduction from their unbiased observations about the world of Hoosier sports. Now people watch NBA games and come away with the equally ludicrous conclusion that all Black people are innately hyper-athletic.

What we believe depends, in part, on what we see—but what we see is a function of social roles and arrangements that are created by a complex set of historical, political, and economic factors.

The Bottom Line: Stereotypes are pervasive, and powerful, in part because they affect how we see the world even when our subjective experience leads us to believe we are simply describing the world as it actually exists. We rarely believe ourselves to be influenced by stereotype, making us even more susceptible to their effects. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of new posts by email. Psychological Science ; 25 9 : — Bargh JA Unconscious thought theory and its discontents: A critique of the critiques.

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First, it's naive to say you can't use a generalization about a class of people unless it's universally valid—we use such stereotypes all the time and would be paralyzed without them.

Second, working out the ways in which the use of a stereotype can go wrong. Many generalizations, like those based on race or gender or religion, are rightly subject to special scrutiny because of their historical misuse. But even here, it would be an error to say that use of a stereotype is 'wrong' just because there exist exceptions to the generalization upon which it is based. Slow Change in China. Taking Care of Business. Heavy Lifting. In another experiment, they informed study participants that, for example, more white males would become nurses in the next 25—30 years, and then asked how they would be perceived.

The participants changed their stereotypes of the group of white males to reflect these new roles. In other words, if enough members of a stereotyped group manage to break into new fields—whether men into nursing or women into math and science—prevailing stereotypes about them would likely change.

Of course, to break into new fields, members of stereotyped groups have to get hired in them. That is where policy interventions should begin, Eagly argues. Our Community Discover how we support creation and dissemination of interdisciplinary research.

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