Why do we believe stereotypes?

The thing is, stereotypes don't appear out of nowhere! Like it or not, there are historical/cultural reasons for stereotypes. It's very difficult to fight with history and culture! I think everyone believes in stereotypes to some degree. But what really matters is whether you let those notions interfere with how you judge or interact with others. Once you meet someone and get to know them a little better, then you can decide if they fit the stereotype or not. It's generally a bad practice to just assume they will.

As a white, middleclass, old school educated English man, I am probably not the best person to answer your question. I am a walking cliche; smug, over-opinionated, condescending whilst being wwracked with guilt for the plight of the working man, and the loss of good manners in society. However, it would be best to point out that whilst we are all individuals we are each an amalgam of forces. We do have our own identity, but this is heavily influenced in childhood by those around us (family and Friends) and also of the society we live in (Government legislation & media) which can shape our future identity. The only way to break this is to travel a lot and settle in differing circumstances and cultures, hopefully breaking the influence of state over our morals and opinions. Many stereotypes are true to a certain point, but as with any generalisation cannot be taken as universal. Many Americans do not seem to be able to accept any criticism of their country, because their education system teaches them this is unpatriotic, whereas in Europe it is common practice to complain about your government, whilst re-electing the same morally corrupt politicians over and over again. Neither side seems to have it right, and there are always those who break this mould and surprise you, though these people are often regarding as eccentric or dangerous. Stereotypes are used throughout tv in particular, as it creates an empathy with a character, for which there would not be time in a 2 hour movie or 1/2 hour sitcom to devote time to supplying a background. For example, I am contrary to the average Englishman of my age and education, because my hair is 2 foot long and red. In England having red hair is seen as a sign of ignorance, if you see a redhaired character in comedy, they will be the office fool, because after the fall of the Roman Empire, darkhaired Saxons ruled the South and redhaired Norsemen & redhaired Angles occupied the north. Ultimately the Saxons took control, and portrayed redhaired people as lesser beings and this continues today. I have had my hair set alight on a bus, been spat at on the streets and insulted for having redhair. Alternatively, if I visit Italy, where Da Vinci and Titian portrayed goddesses with long red hair, I get old people smiling at me fondly. In Scotland, noone even bats an eyelid in my direction, and in Japan, young people stop in the street and stare in awe. We just have to accept that stereotypes will always exist, often based on historical prejudices, but remember that everyone is an individual and should be afforded respect as such.

most of them are true.

I am American and i agree that overall americans are lazy. People in other countries are much harder workers. While not all christians are obnoxious some are extremely obnoxious and give the whole group that image which is usually how stereotypes come about. I noticed that you didnt include blacks or asians in your list, is there a reason for that?

I think that stereotypes have been developed to symbolism a certain group of people and give them a good or a bad personality depending on what is more convenient. To start a war maybe is enough to create a bad stereotype of the enemy and use it to justify the actions.

The real reason people use stereotypes is because they have been programmed to use them by society and others. When you are growing up, you are learning all these sayings and beliefs when you are constantly exposed to them. Unless, later in life a person begins to think for themselves, they will continue to believe in stereotypes. For example, I grew up in a white neighborhood and was exposed to negative ideas about black people. It wasn't until I got away from my neighborhood that I discovered that the things I heard during growing up were simply not true. As I formed my own opinions, I was able to disolve what I had been taught. Many people learn these things early in life and never think about them and accept them as true. My ideal has been to find out for myself about others. 99.9% of the time, I find out that the labels I here about certain kinds of people are totally wrong. I have realized that people everywhere have dreams and want to be happy and sometimes struggle with the same problems. I pay no attention to these stereotypes, and sometimes it is difficult to ignore all the crap you hear about others. Perhaps, many are too lazy to find out the truth for themselves.

Unfotunatly if you look at them, most of them are true. Notice how I put in the word MOST. Not all of them are true but just like myths, there is usually one part that is right. I myself try to aviod them but I find that when they are true and pertain to a certain person, not everyone, then I see where they came from.

Stereotypes are a very pervasive idea. Generalisations of any kind are silly but are much easier to apply than examining each case alone. Therefore i would say people in general (lol) dont believe in steriotypes to make themselves feel superior but rather because they are lazy and hard of thinking, its much easier to believe generalisations than to accept you lack knowledge

I don't agree with the stereotypes like that,but I do believe about the cultural things like the stereotype of American is outspoken while in my country are not.But still,never judge which one is the superior.

As some said here some stereotypes may have truth in it but the problem is in generalization, we should learn to judge everyone separately and to tolerate differences, unfortunately the media and the politicians are not doing much to fight this way of thinking, some people or ideas needs an "enemy" or the "others" to survive or to distinguish themselves and to feel superior as you said and this is actually because they don't have strong foundation for their thoughts and beliefs and just acting out of "empty pride"

Look, stereotypes are stereotypes for one reason...there is a grain of truth to them. Muslims are terrorist: Hello, all of the 9-11 hijackers were Muslim. Ergo, at least 19 Muslims were terrorist. Indians: There are documented cases where Indian women have been burned alive for being "unpure." That's pretty mean if you ask me and bad for women. Jews: The phrase, "He tried to Jew me down" comes from the business world of days gone by when Jews were good business people who wouldn't give a penny more than they had to. Wiccans: They dabble in the occult. The occult can be linked to devil worship. No, all Wiccans or even a small number of Wiccans practice devil worshipping. Americans: We are the most obese nation. Did we get that way because we exercise so much? No.

It depends on the cultures,history and prevailing conditions of the place where the communities are existed.Nothing can be assumed or confirmed by the people called stereotypes.

I think that, perhaps, at one point or another you could assume a certain group would be a certain way, and I agree that a lot of the popular stereotypes are based of history previously having met those stereotypes. Today, I think it's pretty pointless, though a hard habit to break after so long of being politically incorrect, since cultures are mixing more and influence on another, not to mention interacial situations. Do I agree with them all? There are some I find myself automatically thinking, mostly because that is how the culutre is in my area, but I really think it depends on the location you're in and the individual. Not all black men are well-endowed, not all of them eat watermelon, or talk at all in movies, just as not all caucasians eat miracle whip on their sandwiches lol, nor are people of Jewish decent greedy or do all asians drive poorly (as is the stereotype where I live)...the list is long, to say the least. I noticed also that some stereotypes here in the states -might- be true say on the east coast, but I hardly ever see them here on the west coast much, and vice versa. Again, it depends on the location and influence. I think of it as American society beating it into everyone's heads for the longest time that "Thin is In." Sure, it may look better to us now and be healthier, but not-to-so long ago and for centuries beyond that, a heavyset woman would have been considered more beautiful than some of our more popular celebrities to day. It's really just society talking.

*sigh* you are right. I too am guilty of being sterotypical. The ones that I hear most are: Black people are great athletes Chinese people are very smart Jews are stingy White people are lazy I don't really want to be sterotypical so I will never believe anything about a race unless it is really true. happy mylotting...peace out -gbeast95

Because people easy believe in bad things. And it's all about the culture and the education. There are so many factors. But one is sure - people must believe in something, whatever it is. In this world of competition every has to be very vigilant.

i don't

Various developments/circumstances lead to stereotyping. I dont think it is the belief of an individual which leads to this, rather a whole group/community gradually develops similar feelings about the other "party". Now I dont think it is quite possible to wipe-out the stereotypes from the minds of the people, but it is more important to understand why they have such a mindset (of stereotyping you)!!

p.s. I am a Christian and I'll admitt I do tend to be an obnoxious know-it-all.

"Muslims are mean ppl and terrorists" I dont know ur mental conditions but its not the case with muslims ! If you are a typical person relying on media than just drown in ur own media the truth will never become before u

i think stereo type is a type of relation that people draw between 2 similar things or things which they thing is similar by their experience.