1.

Cultural Stereotypes

Within any society, cultural stereotypes shape expectations of and behaviors with the child. Cultural
stereotypes associated with gender differences are common in the United States and many other
countries. For example, girls are assumed to be better attuned to emotions and social relationships than
boys, and therefore parents are more likely to talk about feelings with daughters than with sons.
Although stereotypes are often based to some extent in actual group characteristics (e.g., many
Scandinavians are tall and blonde), stereotypes sometimes lead to biased perceptions of group
members, memory distortions, and differential treatment.

3.

Gender stereotypes – as well as other stereotypes based on social groups – vary across cultural groups.
Within Latino families, for example, men are traditionally expected to be the economic providers for
their family and to be responsible for most important decisions. Women, in contrast, are traditionally
expected to be submissive to their husbands, passive, and self-sacrificing for the good of the family. The
extent to which these traditional stereotypes are upheld within the family as well as attitudes in the
child's mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem will influence the degree to which the child
internalizes gendered norms and will practice such behaviors as an adult.

#Stereotyping means

Stereotyping means holding a general or fixed belief or notion about others without proof or validity. We
are all familiar with it, even though some might not have heard the word. The habit of stereotyping is
not particular to a group, nation or race. Human beings tend to stereotype and generalize their
perceptions and experiences in dealing with the complexity of human life. They do it almost
mechanically to make sense of the unfamiliar and the unknown and minimize the anxiety, fear and
insecurity arising from facing the unfamiliar and the unknown. They rely upon stereotyping to make
sense of the world and people, measure themselves, or to find security and social comfort in a group
identity.

In other words, stereotyping is a natural tendency of the human mind to minimize effort and find mental
shortcuts to process information and draw quick conclusions. Over generalization, over simplification,
selective perception, irrational beliefs, ignorance, faulty learning, immaturity are some of the reasons
why people tend to stereotype.

Stereotyping helps us to minimize the effort involved in decision making and problem solving and relate
to others in specific ways. We stereotype not only those who are different from us, but also those who
are similar to us. We assume certain personality types are either superior or inferior, friendly or hostile,
intelligence or ignorant, reliable or unreliable, aggressive or docile.

We form both positive and negative opinions about people based upon it, and both may equally affect
our ability to think and act rationally. Some conclusions arising from stereotyping may be right and even
helpful to deal with the complexity of the world. However, in most cases, stereotyping and prejudiced
thinking lead to irrational behavior, and logical fallacies. It also limits our ability to deal with people and
situations effectively, with maturity and insight

Suggestions to avoid stereotyping

The following suggestions are helpful to guard ourselves against stereotype thinking.

1. Respect individuals: Treat each person as an individual rather than as part of a group. Do not assume
that people will have certain traits or behavior simply because they belong to certain groups or
nationalities.

2. Respect the individuality: Each person is unique. He may share some features with others, but his life
and behavior are uniquely shaped by circumstances. Therefore focus upon the individuality of each
person you meet, and what distinguishes him or her from the rest.

3. Respect the humanity: All people, irrespective of their color or creed, belong to the same human race.
Our destinies are deeply intertwined. We are the only intelligent beings in the known universe.
Therefore, treat people with respect as the children of God or of earth.

4. Be rational: Think and act rationally with objectivity when you deal with people or judge their
behavior.

5. Avoid assumptions: Do not jump to conclusions or make assumption when you do not know people
well. Avoid the temptation to make up information based upon your feelings rather than facts.
6. Appreciate the diversity: Imagine a world, where everyone looks alike and thinks alike. You will have
no chance of being recognized or asserting your individuality. You are able to leave a mark upon the
world and establish your identity because of the diversity that prevails in our world. Therefore,
appreciate the diversity you find in the world and people around you. Contemplate upon how it enriches
your life and contributes to your welfare. Appreciate and the role they played by different people and
diverse cultures in shaping the human civilization.

7. Gather more information: Try to know more about people whom you tend to stereotype. Study their
history, social and cultural background and examine rationally whether you prejudices are justified.

8. See yourself in others: Although people may belong to different social and cultural backgrounds and
speak different languages, they share many common features and behaviors, and experience the same
emotions. They are also driven by the same desires and concerns. Therefore, look for areas of agreement
with others, and treat them the way you would like to be treated.

9. Cleanse your thinking: Make a list of your irrational beliefs and prejudices and examine them
according to your personal experience and observation. See how far they are true and valid. Also,
analyze your past to know how developed certain beliefs and prejudices and how you were influenced
by your parents and peers in your childhood.

10. Learn from others: Prejudices and stereotyping prevent many people from learning from others. You
can learn a lot from others, even if they are not as educated or knowledgeable as you are. The world
offers you innumerable opportunities to learn from others, and you should wisely make use of them.

11. Expand your self-awareness: When you know more about you, you will develop better insight into
human behavior and appreciate others with greater tolerance and understanding.

12. Practice compassion: All people deserve your sympathy because they all suffer in their own
individual ways. Whether they are rich or poor, young or old, everyone who lives upon earth is
vulnerable to innumerable hardships. Treat everyone with compassion, tolerance, and understanding.

13. Know your boundaries: You may protect your interests, and act with social responsibility, but you
must know that neither the country nor the community with which you may identify belongs to you. You
are just one of the billions of people who live upon earth for a short item and disappear forever. You may
enrich them with your actions and service, but you cannot assume any special privileges for yourself
based upon your birth or background. You can stand for yourself and defend your rights and actions,
without infringing upon the rights of others to live their lives according to their vision and values.

How can we talk about cultural differences without putting people into boxes and stereotyping them?
Today, cultural awareness is becoming more and more important in our globalized world. In places like
New York and Boston and other major cities around the world, we are starting to realize that if we
investigate how cultural differences affect our interactions with other people, we can benefit from the
enormous potential for creativity and success that an intercultural workplace or community provides. So
we know that cultural differences are important and we also know that stereotypes are dangerous. How
do we develop our cultural awareness and avoid relying on stereotypes to deepen our knowledge of
other cultures? Keep reading for the answer to this question and more.

What is a stereotype?

When we form stereotypes about people based on their native culture, we put them in a box or a
category and maintain certain expectations about how they will behave. When we stereotype, we tend
to exaggerate the differences between cultural groups.

Why do we often rely on stereotypes?

A lot of researchers believe that we form stereotypes because we are so overwhelmed with new
information coming in every day, that we have to categorize the information so that we can make things
more simple and predictable and easier to handle. This need to categorize people and things can
become even more intense when we are in a busy, fast paced, intercultural environment, like New York
City. Stereotyping is our attempt to make sense out of an unpredictable world and everyone does it to
some extent.

Why is it hard to move to a new country? Fear of being stereotyped

Have you ever entered a new workplace or a new group as the only member from your home country
and felt afraid that people had already formed conclusions about you based on their own stereotypes
before getting to know you? This is one of the reasons why it's hard to move to a new country and a
common source of anxiety for many people who live and work outside of their home country.

A better way to think about cultural differences

To think about cultural differences in a more realistic way, consider the bell curve image above. In our
Crossing Cultures with Competence seminar, we used the example of time. We asked the question- what
time would you arrive for a 9am business meeting? In the United States, a certain portion of the group
might arrive 10 minutes early and some people would arrive 10 minutes late. However, a larger group of
people would probably arrive right on time- at 9am. Looking at culture in this way, we can avoid
stereotyping and making claims that all people from a certain culture do things in a certain way.
However, we can also state that there are certain trends or tendencies which tend to be shared by a
large percentage of people in the same culture.

In Conclusion

Stereotyping is a natural human tendency

It is helpful to take a closer look at the reasons why we form stereotypes in our mind

When we look at differences between cultures, we can avoid stereotyping and generalizing by looking at
the variation that always exists within each culture