Stereotypes and Prejudices, by Bianca Jichici

Stereotypes and prejudices,

by Bianca Jichici INTRODUCTION

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and must behave in relation to each other in the spirit of fraternity."

Stereotypes and prejudices

The stereotype is like a stamp, which multiplies an image multiple times by a single template. Walter Lippmann, in his 1920 book Public Opinion, used the term to describe how people place their peers in various categories - put their stamps - on certain characteristics.

Creating stereotypes is a natural function of our brain, by which we simplify the complex reality, so that our mind and body develop automatic responses to similar stimuli.

Stereotyping, in social relations, has a useful function: by classifying individuals we can anticipate their behavior and plan their reactions.

But creating stereotypes can be dangerous. Cultural stereotypes lead to prejudices, negative opinions about others. Stereotypes and prejudices are major obstacles in communication and, more than that, they are the cause of negative actions and emotions.

The prejudices that are based on the ultrasimplification of any race in a narrow and negative stereotype, can have tragic consequences such as discrimination, violence and

in extreme cases, genocide.

Often people have stereotypes related to:

Age: All teens love rock and don't respect the older ones.

Gender: men want one thing from women.

Race: All Chinese look the same.

Religion: all those who are of Islamic religion are terrorists.

Vocation: all lawyers are greedy.

Nationality: all Roma people are dirty.

Places: all people living in town X are lazy.

Things: All Swiss watches are perfect.

The main characteristic stereotypes:

They are much simpler than reality.

They are obtained from "cultural mediators" rather than from their own experience.

They are false by their very nature.

When they are acquired in childhood, they are very difficult to change and they remain stubborn in our minds, coloring our perceptions and behaviors.

Every American movie contains at least a few cliches. I chose only the ones I liked best:

dogs always recognize the negative character and bark at him.

- a negative character commits a crime in front of the window while being viewed through the binoculars.

- at least one twin brother is evil.

- a car will always explode when pulled on it, unless it is driven by the hero of the film.

- a hacker guesses a password from up to three attempts.

- lightning and thunder are instant.

- at night everything is blue.

- In street fights, the hero always beats 1-to-1 even if there are more opponents waiting for them to turn.

- Moms always prepare breakfast eggs with ham. The father always delays at the office and the children rush to catch the bus to school. They only have time to sip from coffee /

juice and bite into a slice of toast.

- if the hero blows his sleeves becomes invulnerable.

- all the apartments in Paris overlook the Eiffel Tower.

- any lock can be opened with a credit card or a staple.

–– explosions in space produce noise; spaceships make noise in space.

- women will always be epilated even in prehistoric times.

- if a woman is pregnant she will always give birth until the end of the movie.

While discrimination is a form of behavioral manifestation, Prejudice represents a negative attitude towards each individual member of a group, which is motivated only by its belonging to the group (Gordon Allport, 1958). Discrimination is related to stereotypes, which is a negative component of prejudice (Dora Copozzo, Chiara Volpato, 1996). These, representing a stable and relatively rigid cognitive structure, help maintain the negative attitude and perpetuate differentiated behaviors based on them. Another phenomenon related to discrimination is that of stigma, those who are stigmatized become more easily the target of differentiated treatments.

Social sciences have provided a number of alternative explanations for discriminatory practice.

- The theories that emphasize social stratification show that discrimination is "the

product of social stratification based on the unequal distribution of power, status and wealth between groups" (Bouhris, Turner, Gagnon, 1997, p. 274). The dominant groups try to maintain their position by practicing discrimination. Social psychology research has revealed that members of higher status groups tend to discriminate more than those of subordinate groups (ibid., P. 285).

- The theory of real conflicts developed by Sherif (1956) argues that discrimination occurs under the conditions of competition for limited resources that exist between two groups. In this context indivithe days tend to favor the members of their own group. In order to reduce discrimination, a number of strategies have been developed to ensure equal opportunities in areas where systematically underrepresented persons belonging to traditionally discriminated groups have been under-represented. In the United States these strategies are called Affirmative Action, while in the United Kingdom they are known as Positive Discrimination. These strategies do not involve "reverse discrimination", but they are meant to ensure equal opportunities for all citizens, regardless of the group to which they belong. Positive Discrimination and Affirmative Action require, on the one hand, the recognition of the disadvantages accumulated by the respective groups, as well as the development of policies and practices that help to overcome the difficulties (Neil Thompson, 1997). The main areas in which the actions of the strategies for eliminating discrimination were focused are the labor market, education and housing.

What can we do to reduce or eliminate stereotypes in our lives?

Let's focus on each person individually as an individual. Each of us deserves to be considered a unique human being.

Let's pay more attention to stereotypes and how they influence us when we interact with other people.

Let us remember that there may be more differences within a group than between groups.

Recognize that we are all part of several groups simultaneously and that none of these groups can fully explain what we are.

Let's learn to look at things from the perspective of the other.

Let's take a more humble attitude when it comes to the objectivity of our judgment.

Let us be willing to learn more about the culture and profile of people who are different from us

Let's neutralize stereotypes when we meet them.

- Respect your peers, regardless of gender, level of education, age, ethnic, religious, sexual or political orientation.

- Mention the level of education, age, or ethnic, religious, sexual or political orientation of the people you relate to only when this is relevant in context.

- Ask those involved how they want to be identified and use this name in your story.

- Avoid sensationalism based on stereotypes and prejudices.

- Identify your own stereotypes and prejudices and make sure it doesn't affect your story.

- Imposes a neutral tone when using news from other sources.

- Be balanced and remove negative or positive discrimination terms.

- Do not mix personal experiences in the press reports about a minority, because they are irrelevant.

- Pay equal attention to all parties involved in the topic you are talking about.

- Include among your sources and representatives of minorities, for a broader reflection of the society.

- Be aware that between you and the minorities you relate to, there may be cultural differences that block access to information.

- Grammatically correct quotes if they put in unfavorable light the sources.

- It relates to the desire to build bridges of understanding between categories, human groups or individual options.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Capozzo, Dora, Chiara Volpato (1996) - "Intergroup Relations: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives" in Richard Bouhis, Jaques - Phillipe Leyens (coord), Stereotypes, discrimination and intergroup relations, Polirom Publishing House, Iasi

Walter Lippman Public Opinion 1920

Sherif, Muzafer, Carolin Sherif (1956) - An Outline of Social Psychology. Revised Edition, Harper & Brothers, New York