STEREOTYPE & PREJUDICE COMM 321 & COMM 322 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

The term stereotype derives from the Greek words στερεός (stereos), "firm, solid“ and τύπος(typos)impression"  hence "solid impression".

Think LOCAL before Global; Stereotyping Think LOCAL before Global;

Stereotype STEREOTYPES ARE GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHEREBY WE ATTRIBUTE A DEFINED SET OF CHARACTERISTICS TO THIS GROUP. A STEREOTYPE IS A POPULAR BELIEF ABOUT SPECIFIC TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS. 

STEREOTYPES STEREOTYPES ARE CLASSIFICATION, AND STANDARDIZED AND SIMPLIFIED CONCEPTIONS OF GROUPS BASED ON SOME PRIOR ASSUMPTIONS. THESE CLASSIFICATIONS CAN BE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, SUCH AS WHEN VARIOUS NATIONALITIES ARE STEREOTYPED AS FRIENDLY OR UNFRIENDLY.

STEREOTYPES An oversimplified image or statement applied to a whole group of people, without regard for the individual. ANOTHER NAME FOR STEREOTYPING IS BIAS. Bias is a predisposition to see events, people or items in a positive or negative way. Bias is an attitude or belief.

What are stereotypes? STEREOTYPES ARE A HIGHLY SIMPLIFIED, GENERAL AND EXAGGERATED TYPE OF REPRESENTATION – THEY ARE ALSO OFTEN NEGATIVE HOWEVER- THEY GENERALLY ALWAYS CONTAIN A GRAIN OF TRUTH.

MEN ONLY MOW, TAKE OUT TRASH, AND BUILD/FIX THINGS  

MEN ARE STRONGER, BETTER AT SPORTS, AND ALL MEN GET IN FIGHTS  

MEN CAN'T COOK MEN DON'T DO LAUNDRY  

                WOMEN STEREOTYPES  

WOMEN BELONG IN THE KITCHEN  

WOMEN SHOULDN'T PLAY SPORTS  

We all need to understand stereotypes… Use these questions to ask yourself how you are influenced by stereotypes: Does something about this person’s appearance or behavior make me think that they are better or worse? What is the basis for making this assumption?

Stereotypes… What labels am I consciously or subconsciously applying to this person? To what cultural group am I assuming this person belongs to? What do I know about that group and that group’s within-group differences? Am I thinking globally?

WHY ARE STEREOTYPES USED? STEREOTYPES OFFER A SHORTCUT FOR MEANING AS THEY CONVEY A LOT OF INFORMATION QUICKLY. STEREOTYPES CONDENSE COMPLEX INFORMATION INTO A CHARACTER WHO IS EASY TO RECOGNISE AND EASY TO DEAL WITH. STEREOTYPES ARE OFTEN OF MINORITY GROUPS. STEREOTYPING CAN BE USED TO MARGINALISE AND DEVALUE GROUPS WITHIN SOCIETY .

A "STEREOTYPE" IS A GENERALIZATION ABOUT A PERSON OR GROUP OF PERSONS. WE DEVELOP STEREOTYPES WHEN WE ARE UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO OBTAIN ALL OF THE INFORMATION WE WOULD NEED TO MAKE FAIR JUDGMENTS ABOUT PEOPLE OR SITUATIONS. IN THE ABSENCE OF THE "TOTAL PICTURE," STEREOTYPES IN MANY CASES ALLOW US TO "FILL IN THE BLANKS."

TELEVISION, BOOKS, COMIC STRIPS, AND MOVIES ARE ALL ABUNDANT SOURCES OF STEREOTYPED CHARACTERS. FOR MUCH OF ITS HISTORY, THE MOVIE INDUSTRY PORTRAYED AFRICAN-AMERICANS AS BEING UNINTELLIGENT, LAZY, OR VIOLENCE-PRONE. IN THE SAME WAY, PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE WOMEN HAVE BEEN AND CONTINUE TO BE PORTRAYED AS UNINTELLIGENT OR UNINTELLECTUAL AND SEXUALLY PROMISCUOUS.

Where Do Stereotypes Come From?

STEREOTYPES ARE OFTEN USED IN BOOKS TO PROJECT THE CHARACTERS ON TELEVISION SHOWS. IT IS ALSO USED IN ADVERTISING TO SELL PRODUCTS. STEREOTYPES ARE ALSO PASSED ON FROM ADULTS TO THEIR CHILDREN THROUGH COMMENTS MADE ABOUT PEOPLE AND PLACES.

What Problems are caused by Stereotyping?

STEREOTYPES ARE OFTEN ACCEPTED AS TRUTHS. STEREOTYPES LEADS TO MISTAKEN BELIEF ABOUT ONESELF. STEREOTYPING CAN AFFECT YOUR JUDGMENTS OF PEOPLE OR INDIVIDUALS. IT CAN LEAD TO DISCRIMINATION. IT DAMAGES SELF-IMAGE AND SELF-ESTEEM.

Stereotyping Task The Media and Stereotyping The media uses stereotypes all the time. In small groups draw and annotate a common media stereotype. Remember to focus on how they are constructed – physical appearance, behavioural and speech characteristics.

Describe a Time When You… …were exposed to stereotypes in media (TV, movie, music, etc). What message did it send? …when you have been the recipient or target of a stereotype? How did that affect you? …when you have witnessed someone else being stereotyped? What did you do?

“We must be the change we want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi “Communication provides the legs for bias, carrying it from person to person, from generation to generation. Eventually, however, communication will be the way to end discrimination.” – John N. Bailey ABC, Exec. Director, International Association of Business Communicators “We must be the change we want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Gender Stereotypes Around the World

IT’S EASY TO THINK THAT SOME BEHAVIORS ARE JUST INHERENTLY MALE OR FEMALE. BOYS LIKE TO PLAY WITH TRUCKS. GIRLS LIKE TO PLAY WITH DOLLS. MEN PROPOSE MARRIAGE, WOMEN TAKE THEIR HUSBAND’S LAST NAME. BUT WHAT MAY BE NORMAL IN THE WESTERN WORLD ISN’T NECESSARILY SO ACROSS THE GLOBE.

Belgium: Boys Wear Pink When it’s time to paint a baby’s bedroom or pick out an outfit, many of us in the western world immediately choose pink for girls and blue for boys. But it wasn’t always that way, and, in some places, it still isn’t. In Belgium, this is still considered normal.

. E De of Vietnam: Men Take Women’s Last Names The E De ethnic group of Souther Vietnam has one of the most female-centric cultures in the world: all the property is owned by women, and inherited by daughters. Men move into their bride’s longhouse, like the one in the picture, and take their bride’s family name :

Japan: Only Women Give Gifts on Valentine’s Day American men often pick up some roses, a box of chocolates or maybe even a diamond or two for their female partners. But in Japan, the reverse is true. Wow!, Japanese women buy their men gifts on Valentine’s Day — usually just chocolate.

Various Arab Countries: Male Friends Hold Hands , In 2005, George W. Bush made headlines after a picture of him holding hands with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in the Western World, where hand-holding among adults is generally reserved for couples, it’s quite common in much of the Arab world hand-holding is a common sign of friendship among people of the same gender.

Mauritania: Obese Women are the Most Attractive In Mauritania, a small country in West Africa, the fatter a woman is, the more attractive she is. Obesity is considered a sign of wealth, and thinness is considered a sign of poverty and sickliness.

Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau: Women Propose to Men . Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau: Women Propose to Men On this small archipelago off the coast of Western Africa, it’s the women who propose marriage to the men — and the men can’t refuse Women prepare a special dish for their husbands- to-be, a symbolic gesture akin to the western world’s getting down on one knee.

PREJUDICES

Prejudices WHAT IS A PREJUDICE? A PREJUDICE IS A JUDGMENT TOWARDS A PERSON OR A GROUP OF PEOPLE, USUALLY UNFAVORABLE PREJUDICES CAN REFER TO... GENDER, USUALLY AGAINST WOMEN... … BUT ALSO AGAINST HOMOSEXUALS PREJUDICES CAN REFER TO... SOCIAL CLASS, EITHER AGAINST POOR PEOPLE... SOCIAL CLASS PREJUDICES …OR RICH PEOPLE

Prejudices PREJUDICES CAN ALSO REFER TO AGE SOME PEOPLE HAVE RACIAL PREJUDICES SOME PEOPLE HAVE RELIGIOUS PREJUDICES OTHERS HAVE PREJUDICES AGAINST DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES OR AGAINST PEOPLE WHO ARE HANDICAPPED OR DISABLED

Social Sources of Prejudice SOCIAL CATEGORIZATION- DIVIDE WORLD INTO IN-GROUP (“US”) AND OUT-GROUP (“THEM”) IN-GROUP BIAS- VIEW OWN GROUP MORE FAVORABLY

Prejudices PREJUDICES ARE: ● IRRATIONAL● UNFAIR● DANGEROUS, BECAUSE THEY MAY RESULT IN IRRATIONAL VIOLENCE BASED ON IRRATIONAL BELIEFS WE ALL HAVE PREJUDICES... ● PREJUDICES HAVE A CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ORIGIN SOMETIMES. ● SOME OTHER TIMES, THEY ARE BASED ON AN IRRATIONAL FEAR TO THOSE WHO ARE DIFFERENT TO US.

Prejudices SO WHEN YOU MEET SOMEONE NEW, WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO IS DIFFERENT TO YOU, FORGET YOUR PREJUDICES! MOST OF THE TIMES YOUR PREJUDICES WILL BE WRONG IF YOU USE THEM FOR THAT PERSON! TAKE YOUR TIME. DON’T JUDGE SOMEONE WITHOUT TALKING TO THAT PERSON, OR WITHOUT LISTENING TO HIM OR HER BEFORE!

Reducing Prejudice SOCIAL LEARNING INCREASE INTERGROUP CONTACT TEACH PARENTS TO SOCIALIZE CHILDREN TO BE TOLERANT INCREASE INTERGROUP CONTACT CONTACT MUST INVOLVE COOPERATION AND INTERDEPENDENCE NORMS FAVORING GROUP EQUALITY MUST EXIST FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL-BASED (VS. CATEGORY) PROCESSING FOCUS ON SIMILARITIES BETWEEN IN-GROUP AND NONTHREATENING OUT-GROUP EXTENDED CONTACT HYPOTHESIS KNOWING THAT MEMBERS OF IN-GROUP HAVE FORMED FRIENDSHIPS WITH OUT-GROUP MEMBERS MAY REDUCE PREJUDICE 4 10 10

Key Terms & Concepts Ethnocentrism The belief that one’s own cultural or ethnic group is superior to all others Chinese word for China = Center of the World Stereotypes is generalization that does not allow for differences. Prejudice is a negative opinion, prejudgment or attitude about a group or its individual members. Often accompanied by ignorance, fear or hatred Discrimination is a behavior that treats people unequally because of their group memberships. Often begins with negative stereotypes and prejudices Racism when one cultural group oppresses another group Prejudice + power Xenophobia is dislike or a fear of people from different countries, cultures, origins, language, religion, etc...

IT IS HARDER TO CRACK A PREJUDICE THAN AN ATOM. ALBERT EINSTEIN