Introduction
In its common simple usage, stereotyping refers to generalizing or making broad and typical assumptions concerning the behavioral characteristics of certain groups of people, basing it on an often wrong image held towards the individuals in that group. Prejudice on the other hand refers to the attitude formed in regard to a certain group of people based on the fact that they are affiliated to a certain group (Musa 2). Considering these two definitions, we can clearly state that stereotyping leads to prejudice and eventually discrimination. Stereotyping and prejudice tends to place us and others on opposing sides with the basis being our affiliation to different groups. The eventual result is making conclusions and treating individuals based on beliefs towards that particular group, and often leads to resistance to new information concerning the group. Stereotyping acts as a source of reference to interpret new information by relating it to the beliefs held towards a certain group (Musa 5).
Stereotyping and prejudice is as a result of negative generalizations we hold upon certain groups of individuals, but which through a number of ways can be countered to suppress the tendencies to make stereotyped and prejudiced conclusions.
Stereotyping and Prejudice
Stereotyping and prejudice can stem from; downplaying others to raise our self esteem, it can result from direct competition for scarce resources (realistic conflict theory) or it can be caused by our tendency to categorize the world to ‘us’ and ‘them’. A broad source of stereotyping is the acquisition of the attitudes towards these groups as a result of social learning process. This is mostly applicable to the children as they grow up while acquiring information from parents, teachers and the social surroundings. The tendencies can however be reversed to form positive attitudes towards individuals and avoid generalization of behavior through a number of ways.
As a result stereotyping and prejudice, groups grow further and further apart thus discouraging interactions. It has been proposed that through increasing the frequency of contact between groups can help counter stereotyping and prejudice in a concept dubbed contact hypothesis. Here, groups which were segregated are encouraged to interact. According to Tamara, the hypothesis basis its theory on the fact that groups are generally similar in characteristics and status, and interaction helps realize the similarities thus the change in the perception. The interaction encourages corporation and interdependence hence creating a good atmosphere for getting to know the group members as individuals and not look at them as a general group. Once individuals familiarize, it is a precursor for reverting the negative stereotypes (12).
Another effective way to counter stereotyping and prejudice is through social learning. This is based on the understanding that the generalizations leading to stereotypes are actually learnt. Children mostly form these negative attitudes towards certain groups depending on the views of the significant others. The idea here is to filter the information fed to the children. Parents and teachers, who realize their stereotypes and prejudices, should aim at changing them and in the process causing the children to emulate non-prejudiced behavior.
As a way to reduce stereotypes and prejudice, members of different groups can work towards denouncing the categorization of groups as ‘us’ and ‘them’, and instead view themselves as belonging to a single social unit. This encourages positive viewing of group members who were previously disregarded. The increased corporation brought about by working as a single entity helps reduce bias between groups. This is supported by the common in-group identity model developed by Gaertner and Dovidio in 1993.
Stereotypes are formed by processing information by categorizing the attitudes towards others in relation to the groups they belong. This situation can be countered by analyzing an individual and categorizing him/her according to their unique characteristics. This is referred to as weakening stereotypes through cognitive interventions. Getting to know the members of the other group gives you the opportunity to realize their individual successful outcomes and therefore propelling formation of positive characteristics towards them. This also encourages one to think accurately about others.
Apart from these known ways of countering stereotypes and prejudice, we as individuals can take the initiative to challenge them in a number of ways. The first step involves reviewing situations when people made conclusions about us. We then take time to analyze their basis of their assumptions on the group you are affiliated to perhaps. Step two involves now revisiting those instances that we misjudged others basing it on assumptions that were stereotyped and were probably wrong. The third step is to find out what exactly could have caused us to apply the stereotyping criterion. Chances are that you will realize that in several occasions your stereotyping reasons were wrong. Here, challenge yourself in trying to avoid bias stereotyping in the future. The final step is adopting a logical, critical thinking and applying facts and reason when analyzing people instead of stereotyping. We should allow people to prove their worth first and try to define them individually. This provides us with accurate data and facts regarding people and therefore eliminates stereotyping (Gary 19).
In conclusion, stereotyping and prejudice are manifested in several ways in the society today. These include racism, gender discrimination, religious stereotyping, and tribal stereotyping, among others. In countries like the US, there have been ranging debates on the use of racial profiling when handling criminal cases. The target mostly is the black Americans who are assumed to possess certain criminal qualities. While countering stereotypes and prejudice would foster a good relationship between individuals of different groups, it has proven a hard thing to do and up to today we find ourselves victims of stereotypes or stereotyping ourselves.
Works Cited
Gary, Grobman M. Stereotypes and Prejudices. 1990. Web.
Musa, Anisa, N. Prejudice, Discrimination and Stereotype. 2009. Web.
Tamara J. Ferguson Perceiving Groups: Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination. 2004. Web.