UNIT 3

STEREOTYPE

A stereotype is generalizations of people groups based on past experiences, which are

deep-rooted in the psyche of the people. In another definition, it is said that stereotype is a fixed
idea or image that many people have a particular type of person, thing, or event, but sometimes it
is not true in reality. Cultural stereotypes mean applying both evidence and our existing beliefs
about the members of that cultural group.

Stereotypes are called idiosyncratic, if only an individual uses them, or they are social, or
collective if they are widely shared by a group of people. In everyday use, the concept of the
stereotype is used in various contexts: usually the word stereotype is used to refer to members of
some kind of collective: firemen are courageous, blondes are less intelligent, Italians are noisy,
and so forth.

The term stereotype itself, as allegedly used for the first time by Walter Lippman in 1922,
is used today to mean a readily available image of a given social group, usually based on rough,
often negative generalizations. Although stereotypes can be positive as well as negative, they are,
in everyday usage, most often understood as irrationally based negative attitudes about certain
social groups and their members. The concept of the 'stereotype' itself was borrowed from old
raised printing technology, where copies of a composed type were made by using papier mache
as molds for new printing plates, identical to the original, and used to produce the same image
over and over again.

In intercultural communication, in particular, it is vital to distinguish between what is part

of a person‘s cultural background and what is part of their personality.

We do and think some things because we are humans: for instance, we want to sleep, eat,
and survive. These are universal and inherited characteristics. We also do and think some things
because of our culture, this might determine. For instance: when we eat and sleep, and how far
we try to survive. These are characteristics which are specific to a particular group of people, and
are learnt. We also do and think some things because of our individual personality. These
characteristics are specific to us as individuals, and are both inherited and learnt. When trying to
understand the behavior of a person it is important to consider all of these three levels.
 Within a culture there will be a range of attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior. It is
possible to generalize about culture, but care should be taken in applying those generalizations to
individual. When we meet an individual, we can’t tell where they are on the range. (see the
following Figure)

Figure of How attitudes and belief are distributed

When a person makes inferences about a new person or about some social event, they use their
existing knowledge to reduce the uncertainty in the situation. The less one knows about the
object, the more one uses stereotypical generalizations. In an intercultural setting, one of the
goals of the participant is getting to know the attitudes and personality of the communication
partner. Often, stereotypes are understood to be detrimental to intercultural communication and
the elimination of stereotypes was believed to be a prerequisite for any successful intercultural
exchange.

Many people see stereotypes as rigid generalities that members of society impose on others with
whom they are unfamiliar or do not understand. The less we know about the other, the more we
hang on stereotypes. If the stereotype is well grounded and justifiable it may help to orient
oneself in a certain situation, but if it is unjust and loaded with negative emotions, it will harm
the interaction without question. A number of phenomena make the interpretation of
cultural/national stereotypes enigmatic: cultural stereotypes are at the same time enduring and
changing, strong and insignificant. Cultural/national stereotypes are both descriptive and
prescriptive in nature: they are perceivers' shared beliefs about the characteristics of the target
group and at the same time they also function as social expectations. In initial interactions and in
solitary intercultural contacts people's national or cultural stereotypes may be used as a source of
expectation about the other party, and as a reference applied to the judgement of the other party's
behavior.

Some of the constituents of a stereotype may be very old and remain the same for centuries,
while some of the labels given to a country or cultural group may change within a short period of
time. Also, the salience of the constituents of cultural stereotype may change in time and context.
Some particular features may be enacted with different intensities in different contexts, yet in
another context these features may have no relevance at all. (group 1)

A. Kinds of Stereotypes (group 2)

1. Nationality stereotypes
Generalizations about cultures or nationalities can be a source of pride, anger or
simply bad jokes. Some people say that in all stereotype there is some basis in reality,
as they don‘t develop in vacuum. Nationality stereotype is a system of culture-
specific beliefs connected with the nationality of a person. This system includes
beliefs concerning those properties of human beings that may vary across nations,
such as appearance, language, food, habits, psychological traits, attitudes, values etc.
Here are some national stereotypes famous in the world:
 American: arrogant; assertive; open-minded; materialistic; ambitious;
progressive; efficient; straight-forward; alert; practical; US-centered world
view; egoistic; anxious; fast food eaters.
 Arabs: intelligent; modest; insecure; anxious; impulsive; billionaires,
bombers and belly dancers―, men wear beards and are womanizers; have
subservient and repressed women who wear burka or headscarf; play & pray‖
attitude; love celebrations and ceremonies; tea and shisha are important.
 Argentinians: disagreeable; megalomaniac; warm and friendly people; can be
vain & arrogant; beautiful women; cultured society; lazy.
 Australians: nature lovers; surf all day – drink all night; open-minded; free
spirited; men are useless dads; uncultured; sports lovers; meat eaters.
 Belgians: make good beer; poor personal hygiene; dishonest in money
matters; make bad lovers; distrust of authority; tax evaders; eat only french &
fries.
 Brazilians : impulsive; incestuous; megalomaniac; most women are super-
models, most men are gay or machos; always late; soccer lover; active;
inventive and constructive people; always trying to outwit government and
regulations; impossibly fav or oriented; family- and community-oriented.
 British (UK) : lousy food; bad teeth and hygiene; rude; thin; smoke cigar or
pipe; heavy drinkers; swear all day long; artistic; deep thinkers; intelligent and
articulate; boastful or arrogant; anti-American; ride bikes.
 Chinese: stingy and noisy spitters; fast-learners; open-minded; ambitious;
progressive; efficient; materialistic; do kung fu and other martial arts; great at
mathematics; terrible drivers; arrogant; assertive; wear glasses; cheap labor;
drink green tea; business oriented; money rules the world.
 French – good lovers; best cuisine in the world; chaotic; irresponsible;
introverted; selfish; cultured; social ―players‖; do not like to work – prefer to
strike; always surrender in war; don‘t speak English; rude to tourists; anti-
American; don‘t use soap; don‘t respect religious freedom.
 Germans: mechanical; organized; boring; no sense of humor; drink beer all
day; have never been late for anything in their lives, pedophiliac.
 Greek: are big and overweight; lazy; can‘t drive; disorganized; live the easy
life; corrupt; impossible planners; cultured, inefficient; have beautiful women,
as long they are young – men are mainly homosexual or sexual predators.
 Indians: unconventional; adaptive; open-minded; agreeable; manipulative;
hardworking; politically inactive; studious; intelligent; productive;
inoffensive; poor personal hygiene; meditation lover, spiritual, generally poor;
snake charmers; legendary bureaucrats; huge families.
 Indonesians : extroverted; warm and friendly people; lazy; religious; family-
oriented; supportive; rarely on time; corrupt; superstitious; slow; inferior;
polite; lacking discipline; use feeling not logic; do not follow rules;
 hypocritical; tolerant; low profile; unwilling to confront or give bad news‘;
silent in meetings.
 Italians: Gigolos; live with their Mamas; possessive; passionate; pizza/pasta
freaks; manipulative; dishonest; fashion-addicted; Casanovas; mafia or gang
members.
 Israelis: arrogant; religious; strong family relations; well-traveled; noisy; rude;
ruin things if not satisfied; argue over the price of anything; party all night;
fancy and fashionable women.
 Jamaicans : lazy; grass-smokers; reggae and rasta maniacs; loud; boisterous
and aggressive; strong sense of self and their culture; innovative musician;
live in trees; walk barefoot and live generally very primitive; all Jamaican
men are uncircumcised; all they care are weed, beach, women and rum.
 Japanese: disciplined; organized; technology-lover; extroverted; competent;
short; workaholics; perverted; raw-fish eaters; suicidal.
 South Korean: kimchi‘ is the only food; openminded; ambitious; progressive;
efficient; materialistic; arrogant; assertive; plastic-surgery lovers; Jae-ju is the
most famous place; serial-drama makers.
 Malaysians: manipulative; survive by cronyism and nepotism; introverted;
arrogant; have speed traps everywhere; ultra-religious, but sell porn
everywhere; boring; have great varieties of food; embrace multiculturalism;
every long-term visitor is expected to convert to Islam; have mistresses;
women traditional but with modern thinking.
 Mexicans: heavy tequila drinkers; impulsive; wear huge sombreros; religious;
family-oriented; great food (enchiladas, tortillas, burritos) and cheap cost-of
living; human traffickers into the US
 Nigerians: good in sport; violent; neurotic; openminded; modest;
manipulative; corrupt; love money.
 Pakistani: hardworking; politically inactive; studious; intelligent; productive;
inoffensive; low paid; do dirty jobs; militaristic; religious; hate Indians.
 Russians: aggressive; rude; open-minded; organized crime (the Russian
Mafia) is everywhere.
  Singaporeans: adaptive; super-efficient; rich; selfish; money-oriented; hard-
working; clean; stylish; organized; disciplined; tolerant; introverted; career-
and certificate-oriented; multi-cultural; fashionable; against chewing gum and
smoking. (group 2)
2. Racial stereotypes
There are examples of racial stereotypes too. For instance, the Asians are stereotyped
to be good at mathematics; the blacks are stereotyped to be good at athletics and
dancing. These can be regarded as positive stereotypes. Other stereotype like "All
Muslims are terrorists" is a negative stereotype, and many more.

Racial stereotypes

3. Political stereotypes

There are also examples of political stereotypes. These stereotypes have been deep
rooted in the mindset of the general public, because of the general interpretation of
the policies of a political party. Political stereotypes include: All democrats are
liberals, All Republicans are racists, Religion-based party are hypocrite, All
Democrats are Stupid, and All Republicans are against the "working man".

4. Gender stereotypes
The depiction of men in
media strongly suggests that
they are strong, adventurous
and active paving way for
them to be stereotyped in that
manner. On the other hand,
 the depiction of women suggests that they are good at performing household chores
and taking care of their appearances and they are eventually stereotyped by these
traits. Examples of gender stereotypes are ‘Men are masculine’, ‘Women are good
cooks’, ‘Men are strong, adventurous and brave’, ‘Women are in charge of the house
and Men are in charge of finances’, etc. (group 2)
B. Stereotypes in Media (group 3)
Many films, advertisements and television programs show men engaged in physically
demanding pursuits such as sport, rock-climbing, and beach surfing or canoeing. They
also show young boys playing with action toys such as trucks, robots and super-hero
figures. On the other hand, the same media shows young girls putting on make-up,
brushing their hair and generally worrying about their overall appearance. Some other
advertisements show mothers serving meals to their families. The depiction of women in
such roles suggests that they are good at performing household chores and taking care of
their appearances and they are eventually stereotyped by these traits.
In literature and art, stereotypes are clichéd or predictable characters or situations.
Related to this, Violet H. Harada (James, 1996) conducted a research about stereotypes
and biases in recent Asian American fiction for adolescents. Several generalizations
emerged from this study. The prevailing image of Asians American as a member of a
model minority appeared in over half of the fiction. To a lesser extent, Asian American
characters were described as Asian in physical but strived to be American on the inside.
Inaccurate or restricted mention of cultural details also occurred. References to Japanese
culture were limited to discussion on Ikebana-the art of flower arrangement, and Zen.
The only aspect of culture shared by the Chinese was references to eating rice and
drinking tea.
Fictions in particular, can be a powerful and natural vehicle providing a thoughtful
reflection of the values and beliefs of a culture. All writers must accept the challenge and
responsibility of a weaving authentic details and accurate cultural information into
quality works for the readers.
C. Positive and Negative Side of Stereotype
Stereotypes are useful for the human brain because they operate as a heuristic or a
cognitive mechanism to quickly gather, process, and synthesize information. As social
animals, we seek to gather information about those around us. However, there is too
much information to process in its entirety. Therefore, we have heuristics to make the
process more efficient. In applying a stereotype, one is able to quickly "know" something
about an individual. For example, if the only thing you know about s girl is that she
belongs to a band, you are able to guess that she likes music. People use stereotypes as
shortcuts to make sense of their social contexts; this makes the task of understanding
one's world less cognitively demanding.
Other positive sides of stereotypes are:
 People rely on stereotypes every day to help them function in society.
 To allow people to quickly process new information about an event or person.
 To organize people‘s past experiences.
 To meaningfully assess differences between individuals and groups.
 To make predictions about other people‘s behavior.

Given the social and cognitive necessities of heuristics, the problem with
stereotyping is not the existence of the cognitive function. The problem lies in the
assumption that all people of a group—a group with which they might not even
identify—are the same. For example, it is a common stereotype that people who
wear glasses are smart. Certainly, there are some glasses-wearing, intelligent
people. But it is poor logic to think that everyone who sports glasses is intelligent.
Stereotyping can lead to prejudice, or negative perceived judgements about a
group of people. The application of prejudice to a given individual can cause
personal and social damage.

Other negative sides of stereotypes are :

a. Oversimplified generalization
b. Breeding ground for errant generalizations.
c. Serve as a major source of disinformation about others.
d. May easily conceal or feed into prejudice, racism, sexism, and other forms
of bigotry. (group 3)
D. Dealing with Stereotypes (group 4)
1. Between individuals
Once people get to know a person from "the other side," they often will determine
that the other is not nearly as bad as they originally had assumed. More often, however,
people really are much more reasonable than their stereotypes would suggest. In that
case, getting to know people personally helps to break down negative images. This is
especially true when people determine that they actually have things in common with
people from the other side. Such things can range from enjoying the same music,
hobbies, or sports, to having the same worries about children or aging parents.
Even when people learn that they share fear or sadness, they can begin to
understand each other more. When they come to understand that the other is afraid of
being hurt, or losing a loved one in war, just as they are, that brings people together. Such
shared emotions make people seem human, while stereotypes typically "dehumanize"
people. Likewise, shared emotions make empathy possible, which opens the door to new
forms of interaction and trust building, at least among the individuals involved.
Depending on the context and other interactions, the image of the group as a
whole may become more positive as well. (At other times, people rationalize that their
one new acquaintance is "not like the others.") But even learning that one person can
deviate from the stereotype is a start. The challenge then is to expand such transformative
experiences beyond the individuals involved to larger groups, communities, and
eventually whole societies.
Developing such mutual understanding is the goal of many intervention efforts in
war-torn areas, and in places rocked by social unrest. Dialogue groups and problem-
solving workshops are two common ways of doing this. So are joint projects such as war-
reconstruction efforts, children's programs, recreational programs, medical programs --
any kind of program that brings individuals from opposing groups together in a
cooperative venture. Although they have additional goals beyond the breaking of
stereotypes, working together cooperatively can do much to break down negative images
people hold of the "enemy."
2. In the Media
The media also plays an important role in both perpetuating and in breaking down
stereotypes. If they characterize particular groups of people in certain ways, their
viewers (or readers) are likely to do the same. So if a movie -- or the motion picture
industry in general -- characterizes a group of people negatively, they are likely to be
perpetuating negative stereotypes and making conflicts worse. If they emphasize the
positive aspects of groups that contradict prevalent stereotypes, they can have a
significant role in building mutual understanding.
3. In Education
Educational institutions and teaching materials also have the opportunity to affect
stereotypes, and hence influence inter-group relations. Efforts to teach about different
cultures, and the history of different racial or ethnic groups can help build inter-group
understanding if it is done in an effective and sympathetic way.
Educational system (teachers, schools, textbooks) needs to also try to paint a fair and
accurate picture of the conflict and the different people involved, being aware that
different sides of a conflict will view what is happening very differently. Through
stories, discussions, and exercises, teachers can help students (of all ages and levels)
understand the complexity of the conflicts that surround them, and develop age and
situation appropriate responses to the current conflicts in their homes, communities,
and nations. To the extent that classrooms contain students from both sides of the
conflict, teachers can help students learn to understand and appreciate each other
better, while protecting the safety (physical and emotional) of those on both sides. If
the classroom only contains one group, reaching such intergroup understandings is
harder, but still worth the effort through books and articles, discussions, TV and
movies, and when available, online exercises.
In addition, we can deal with stereotype by:
 Presenting more balanced pictures of minority life in media.
 By reporting forms of human right abuses
 By portraiting all groups fairly
  Keep on talking and communicating fairly with each other (otherwise these
problems are going to get much worse).

Generalization and categories are necessary, but when they are too rigid they can be a barrier to
the effective interpretation of a situation. However, eliminating stereotypes is not possible, or, if
it were done, it would be detrimental to human cognition. Stereotypes, as such, are cognitive
schemata, typical of the human cognitive system, which assigns a set of characteristics to all
members of a given social group, and serves as a reference when assigning significance to
observations and experiences in social interactions. They are mental structures, which simplify
the complex stimuli from one's environment and facilitate their comprehension. There is nothing
wrong with stereotypes if they are embedded in reality and promote the understanding of social
and historical processes. Western, multi-ethnic, pluralistic civilization celebrates diversity and
the uniqueness and distinctiveness of its components. Stereotypes merely acknowledge this
variety. (group 4)

EXERCISE 1:

What do you think is happening here?

Debbie : You’re more than just brother and sister, aren’t you?
Maria : Yes, we’re twins. I was born first, my brother came few minutes later. My mom
says it’s because I’m a girl, and girls should go first.
Mario : I let her go first. Italian boys are always polite.
Debbie : Ok.. now, I have a riddle for you both to solve.
Mario : I love riddles!
Debbie : A boy and his father were badly injured in an accident. The child needed an
immediate operation. He was wheeled into the operating room. The surgeon
entered and said, “Sorry, I can’t operate this child. He is my son”. So, who is the
surgeon?
Maria : How can that be? Didn’t you say that the father also badly injured?
Debbie : Yes. Badly injured.
Mario : Maybe the surgeon was his step father.
Debbie : Nice try, but that’s not it.
Mario : Well, I give up.
Debbie : What are you both assuming that is keeping you from solving this riddle?
Discuss it!

1. What are the examples of stereotype in the dialogue?

2. What is Mario and Maria assuming related to the story?
3. What is the answer of the riddle?