Are Stereotypes Truths or Untruths?

Question

Recently I observed two random, what could be called, 'stereotypes'

-a lot of cabdrivers at a Muslim funeral
-a coincidence with Irish people seeming very wholesome and nice

Are these observations rude? Why is it wrong to notice things like this? Is it base?

Answer 1

Stereotypes are important to everyday functioning, we literally couldn't live without them. They allow our brains to process information more quickly. Sometimes they are based on truth, and sometimes they aren't. If you stereotype all UPS drivers as wearing a brown uniform and delivering packages, it would indeed be correct. And when your brain sees it and says "Hey, UPS guy!" it saves you time, energy, and brain processing power.

The problem really arises when you rely heavily on stereotypes at times when you need to sit down and really process what you see. Some stereotypes may not be true of all members of that group (e.g., Irish people seem wholesome and nice), so when your brain uses the "shortcut", it could end up being wrong.

I don't know that it's necessarily rude or wrong to see patterns in things. I think that the problem really comes when you generalize information about a limited group of people (which you observed) to the whole population.

Answer 2

stereotypes are what we make them. they're not wrong or rude, but we shouldn't rely on them. basing everything on stereotyping can lead people to become a bit overly judgemental, which is why people tend to steer away from it.

Answer 3

We study populations, but deal with individual people.

Answer 4

A stereotype is when you assume. And you should never assume anything about anyone or anything!

Answer 5

well they start from somewhere... so i think some of them are true...i'm not going to name any though.