Stereotypes

A stereotype is a fixed, generalized belief about a group or class of people.

The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we simplify our social world. Stereotyping is a very useful
tool when we meet a new situation because we can compare it to situations we've experienced before and
we have a clue of what to expect this new situation is going to be like.
Stereotypes are a useful tool for successful communication. When we first meet someone, we use
stereotypes to judge other people. We do this to quickly assess the kind of person someone is because we
want to quickly figure out whether talking to that person is a good idea and we also want to figure out the
kinds of things we can talk to each other about.
The problem comes when people assume that stereotypes are facts. Stereotypes only give good
indications of probabilities, and as long as you're always aware of the possibility that this situation is an
edge-case where the "general rule" doesn't apply, there's no harm in it.
Peter Ustinov, a British writer, filmmaker, and actor says: “Imagine hell like this: Italian punctuality,
German humor, and English wine.
Our stereotypes come from the filters of our previous experiences as much as from our upbringing in the
family and our surrounding society. In other words, we are ‘socialized’ to have some stereotypes- and
these are unavoidable in the general course of living.
The trick is to know when to drop those stereotypes and when to put them to pragmatic benefit for all
rather to use them for judging.

The problem comes when people assume that stereotypes are facts. Stereotypes only give good
indications of probabilities, and as long as you're always aware of the possibility that this situation is an
edge-case where the "general rule" doesn't apply, there's no harm in it.
Peter Ustinov, a British writer, filmmaker, and actor says: “Imagine hell like this: Italian punctuality,
German humor, and English wine.
Our stereotypes come from the filters of our previous experiences as much as from our upbringing in the
family and our surrounding society. In other words, we are ‘socialized’ to have some stereotypes- and
these are unavoidable in the general course of living.
The trick is to know when to drop those stereotypes and when to put them to pragmatic benefit for all
rather to use them for judging.