Stereotyping.
Stereotyping plays a big role in our everyday lives. Understanding how we.
create and use our stereotypes improves us to deal effectively with people .
whose view or behaviors are different then our own.
Stereotypes are everywhere, at work, at home and on the TV. We use .
stereotypes in our humor, in our description of groups. For example, males are.
suppose to be strong and the breadwinner of the family, females are to take care .
of the children and to clean house. People of different ages get stereotyped as.
well. Older adults do not think younger adults could possibly understand what it's .
like to have responsibility. The younger adults do not think older adults listen or.
respect them because of their age.
We stereotype nationalities, creeds, ideas, or even occupations and .
hobbies. By understanding natural cognitive processing, and the way we .
categorize information, we may be more willing to look at our own personal.
stereotypes.
The term "stereotype" was first used in the eighteenth century to describe a.
printing process designed to duplicate pages of type. A century later, .
psychiatrists started using the related term "stereotypy" to describe a behavior.
Of "persistent repetiveness and unchanging mode of expression" (Jones, 1977).
This definition coincides with the Webster's New World dictionary, which defines.
stereotypes as: An unvarying form or pattern; a fixed or conventional notion or.
conception as of a person, group, idea, etc, held by a number of people, and .
allowing for no individuality, critical judgment.
Stereotyping enables us to adjust a very large amount of information on a .
daily basis, while saving us mental resources. For example, it takes too much.
mental energy to define every individual based on their characteristics of the.
group to which they belong, we use stereotyping as an "energy saving device".
