Stereotypes in Social Psychology

Abstract

Social stereotypes are an individual's set of beliefs about the characteristics of members of a group. They fulfill a variety of functions, such as interpreting others' behaviors, explaining social events and legitimizing the organization of society. They influence social judgment via both automatic and controlled cognitive processes. The formation of shared stereotypes reflects a group's attempt to appraise the social position of relevant out-groups in line with its pre-existing norms and beliefs. Two main dimensions, competence and warmth, organize the content of stereotypes. The position of an out-group on these two dimensions is a function of its perceived status and level of cooperation towards the ingroup. When they are shared within majority groups, stereotypes can exert a variety of undesirable influences on the members of minority group, including impairing their performance in domains targeted by these social stereotypes.

Identification of Sustainability Key Factors Based on Capturing Dominant Feedbacks of Behavioural Stereotypes in Socio-Economic Systems

“…Competence is often related to stereotypes, and from the social perspective, it organises the content of stereotypes [44,45]. The existing studies mostly neglect competence.…”

Diversity management to reduce stereotypes and discrimination in society

“…Stereotypes are collective achievements that are formed and shaped by societal norms, cultural influences, and individual experiences. These beliefs or generalizations are often based on limited information or preconceived notions, rather than individual characteristics or personal experiences (Klein, et al, 2015). One way to reduce the impact of stereotypes is by teaching growth mindsets (Melson-Silimon, et al, 2023).…”

Developmental changes in category-based inductions: The effects of labels and statistical evidence on children’s inferences about novel social categories.

“…Importantly, attributing properties to social category members is a key process in the formation of stereotypes. Stereotypes correspond to sets of expectancies about the properties of social categories, and are shared to a greater or lesser extent among people from the same community 1 (Klein & Bernard, 2015). On this account, social categorization and stereotyping are closely related: as one learns to associate some properties with a social category (e.g., women are caring, men are good at math), one constructs a set of stereotypical expectancies about the members of this social category (Dovidio, 1999).…”