Stereotypes function primarily to rationalize prejudiced behavior.
Evidence
Beginnings, which was produced before Said had thought of reinventing himself as the defender of Islam against stereotypes and generalizations, contains some remarkable instances of just that sort of thing, for example: ‘It is significant that the desire to create an alternative world, to modify, or augment the real world through the act of writing… is inimical to the Islamic world-view.’ While on the subject of stereotypes, it is worth considering whether it is possible or even desirable to dispense with them altogether. As a leading mathematician has pointed out: ‘many stereotypes permit the economy of expression necessary for rapid communication and effective functioning. Chair is a stereotype, but one never hears complaints from bar stools, recliners, bean bags, art deco pieces, high-back dining-room varieties, precious antiques, chaises longues, or kitchen instances of the notion.’ — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 505 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
The impact of stereotypes on social cognition is probably even more profound than Allport knew. The last two decades of research have demonstrated that stereotypes: (a) direct attention to certain aspects of the available information, (b) color the interpretation of that information, (c) influence the way in which the information is retained in memory, (d) shape judgments and subsequent actions, (e) serve as hypotheses that are tested and disproportionately favored in the interpretation of new information, and (f ) play an important role in eliciting from target persons the very same behavior that confirms the perceiver’s biased expectations (for reviews, see Fiske, 1998; Hamilton & Sherman, 1994; Macrae & Bodenhausen, 2000). The overwhelming effect of stereotypes, therefore, is to perpetuate prior beliefs and prejudices; the status quo is bolstered through information processors’ reliance upon stereotypes as a convenient way of organizing information about the social world. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1374 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
The impact of stereotypes on social cognition is probably even more profound than Allport knew. The last two decades of research have demonstrated that stereotypes: (a) direct attention to certain aspects of the available information, (b) color the interpretation of that information, (c) influence the way in which the information is retained in memory, (d) shape judgments and subsequent actions, (e) serve as hypotheses that are tested and disproportionately favored in the interpretation of new information, and (f ) play an important role in eliciting from target persons the very same behavior that confirms the perceiver’s biased expectations (for reviews, see Fiske, 1998; Hamilton & Sherman, 1994; Macrae & Bodenhausen, 2000). The overwhelming effect of stereotypes, therefore, is to perpetuate prior beliefs and prejudices; the status quo is bolstered through information processors’ reliance upon stereotypes as a convenient way of organizing information about the social world. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1374 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Stereotypes are both causes and consequences of prejudice, not either-or.; Stereotypes function simultaneously as both causes and consequences of prejudice — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 101; Stereotypes rationalize planned as well as committed discrimination — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1396 (+9 more)
Broader Connections
- Stereotypes can enable efficient thought rather than only distort it
#complicates(0.78) — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 505 - Stereotypes are self-fulfilling prophecies that perpetuate the status quo endogenously
#complicates(0.75) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1374 - Stereotypes elicit confirming behavior and perpetuate the status quo
#complicates(0.74) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1374