The Importance Of Stereotyping

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Being bias of people and taking a persons physical characteristics and grouping them into a certain group based on those assumptions is stereotyping. Stereotyping is something almost everyone is guilty of doing. Grouping someone into a stereotype doesn’t necessarily have to be a negative one, it can also be a positive one. Stereotypes can also be true or false. In our Social Psychology text book, Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, & Nisbett (2013) describe stereotypes as beliefs that certain attributes are characteristic of members of particular groups (p. 409). Seeing an older gentleman driving a sports car with a significantly noticeable younger women next to him, a person can take in his characteristics that he is older, driving a nice sports car, all with having a pretty young women with him, and conclude with a stereotype about him as a man whose having a midlife crisis. 409). Stereotyping involves some cognitive processes and are considered deliberate, elaborate, and mindful. Due to this, it is believed stereotyping is consciously done. Why do people do this? It’s a way a person can make sense of whats going on around them or a way for someone to understand people. It’s a way for one to be able to understand and predict the social world. Not only this, but it can also be a way for someone to feel better about themselves. Stereotyping someone negatively can help fa person eel better about themselves or a group they belong to. Stereotypes are not self taught. It’s considered a social learning. Our biggest influences of stereotyping comes from our parents or the people who raise us. We also learn it from significant others, teachers, peers, and the

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