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