When we generalize about groups of people along racial lines or otherwise is there any merit to it?

Question

Do we do it because there is some truth to it or is it just a shortcut because we are too lazy to take the time to judge each individual on an individual basis?

Answer 1

Our minds are made to organize and categorize.

Answer 2

The thing about generalizations is that they're based on observations.
The PROBLEM with generalizations is that humans are visually cued creatures, and we have a natural tendency to group people into narrow, broad, and general groups of "us" and "them".
In the narrow group of "us", is the group of people with whom we closely associate. "Them" in that case refers to anyone outside that small group of people.
In the broad group of "us" is the broader demographic group with which you self-identify, this takes several forms, some can overlap, and some can even contradict one another. A person might be Christian, and stand with fellow Christians when Christians appear to be under attack. A person might be American, and stand with fellow Americans when Americans appear to be under attack (etc...). "Them" in that case refers to people outside of that demographic, in different cases.
USUALLY (though certainly not always... the exceptions prove the rule), the general form of "us" and "them" is racial. There are individuals who prefer to identify and be counted with other races, but for the most part, whites identify with whites, blacks identify with blacks, Asians identify with Asians, and so forth.
What this all means is that we notice more negative aspects of "them" (in whichever form... narrow, broad, or general) than we do in "us". And that is the problem with generalizations. What we notice about "them" is negativity, normally, because "we" don't identify with "them". Therefore, "they" are different. And human nature tells us that different is bad.

The trick is to educate yourself to move past the generalizations, and realize that generally... everyone is different from everyone else. Just because those white guys over there are racist redneck morons doesn't mean the white guy standing behind you is also.
And just because the Asians you NOTICED driving on the freeway couldn't drive well (why do you think you noticed them?) doesn't mean that no Asians drive well.
And just because you may have had a negative encounter with some blacks doesn't mean encountering any black person means it'll be a negative encounter.

We have probably dozens of minor encounters with people of every race, every day... the only ones we specifically NOTE are the negative encounters, or the extraordinarily positive encounters.
Most go unnoticed and unnoted. So... if you want to broaden your generalizations... take specific note of more encounters with random people of all races.

I've rather rambled here... but I hope my point got across that generalizations are generally worthless, because everyone is an individual.

Answer 3

Generalization is a very useful tool as long as you remember that it is a generalization.