Blog #4-stereotypes

Stereotypes, the assumptions of traits that we make about people simply based on the group in which they belong, are very common and frequently used. Although these stereotypes allow us to quickly make assumptions of people, they tend to cause us to overestimate the differences between groups and similarities within groups  (Ford & Tonander, 1998). Furthermore, once a person has formed and cemented a stereotype,  it is readily available and its influence comes easily to mind (Devine, 1996).

The time in my life that I feel that stereotypes were the most prevalent in my life was during middle school while living in Kentucky.  The county I lived in was a rural farming area where its residents hold onto their history and are resistant to change. Often, people do not move from small rural towns causing stereotypes and prejudices to be passed down through generations and remain strong. It was definitely an experience moving to a community like this especially because my family had no history or ties there. We experienced some stereotyping ourselves (moving from Hawaii made us rich no matter how many times I told my friends that my father was in the Navy and we lived on a military base), but nothing compared to the long standing stereotypes that were held of people whose families had lived there for years and years. 

There was a definite order in which people lived and unspoken rules that everyone seemed to obey. It was not unusual that if  person's name came up in conversation for people to automatically categorize them into who their family was, where they lived, and what their daddy did for a living. Based on information like this, it seemed like others made automatic assumptions about who they were and would put limits on what they could do and what they were allowed to do. For example, the side of town you lived on determined not only how wealthy your family was, but also determined how smart you were and how successful your children would be. If you were related to the judge then you were automatically seen as an upstanding, christian citizen no matter how far that relation or what trouble you got in. If you were African American it didn't matter where you lived or who you were related to as people would automatically assume that you probably would not amount to much unless you played basketball. I don't want to make it sound like where I lived in Kentucky was awful because it really wasn't. Being such a small town, it seemed like a lot of the people thought along those stereotypical lines,  but there really was a substantial group of people who genuinely wanted to get to know you for who you are and not what group you belonged to. The county school I attended, as opposed to the city school, was more diverse and people were close no matter where you were from. It was also important to my parents to make sure that my brother and I understood that stereotypes can be wrong and that we should get to know the person and not make assumptions. 

Devine, P. G. (1996). Breaking the prejudice habit. Psychological Science Agenda, 10-11

Ford, T.E., & Tonander, G. R. (1998). The role of differentiation between groups and social identity in stereotype formation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61, 372-384.