NATA CARLIN

We will talk about stereotypes - norms, canons, laws, customs, traditions, prejudices of society. Most people consider them correct and follow them. Here it is important to distinguish between the concept of the correctness of a stereotype and conventionality (contrived). But invented stereotypes sometimes control the collective consciousness (including us). Stereotypes of people are primarily divided into global ones - characteristic of the scale of the planet, and narrow ones - those that we follow in schools, at work, at home, etc. However, both of them become an illusion that has a lot of followers.

Male models are traditionally classified as gay

What is a stereotype?

The concept of "stereotype" appeared in the 20s of the last century. It was introduced into scientific literature by the American scientist W. Lippman. He characterized a stereotype as a small "picture of the world" that a person stores in the brain in order to save the effort required to perceive more complex situations. According to an American scientist, there is two reasons for stereotyping:

1. Saving effort;
2. Protection of the values ​​of the group of people in which it exists.

The stereotype has the following properties:

• Immutability in time;
• Selectivity;
• emotional fullness.

Since then, many scientists have added to and innovated this concept, but the basic idea has not changed.

What are stereotypes based on? In order not to bother themselves with unnecessary reflections, people use well-known stereotypes. Sometimes they find their confirmation by observing people and then they are even more convinced that they are right. Stereotypes are a kind of replacement for the human thought process. Why "reinvent the wheel" when you can use someone else's mind. To a different extent, each of us is subject to stereotypes, the difference lies in how much of us believe in these “postulates”.

Stereotypes live in us, influence the worldview, behavior and contribute to a misperception of reality: the role of modern stereotypes in human life and society is undeniable. Stereotypes can be imposed by public opinion, and formed on the basis of one's own observations. Social stereotypes are the most destructive for people's worldview. They impose on a person the wrong train of thought, and prevent him from thinking independently. However, without stereotypes society could not exist. Thanks to them, we know about the following patterns:

• The water is wet;
• The snow is cold;
• The fire is hot;
• From a stone thrown into the water, circles will disperse.

Once we know about it, then we do not need to be convinced of this every time. But the stereotypes that operate at the level of consciousness and subconsciousness of people, as a rule, prevent them from living. We must learn to distinguish stereotypes from the actual idea of ​​the subject, to understand the pros and cons of people's stereotypes.

Famous bloggers are perceived as "narrow-minded" girls

Take, for example, the stereotype of debt. There is nothing wrong or wrong with this feeling. The only question is whether this concept is dictated by a person's inner convictions, or is imposed on him by public opinion. In the second case, a person feels a disagreement between his own concepts and what society requires of him.

The desire of people to follow stereotypes distorts their ideas about reality and poisons existence. Very often a person judges people not by their actions, but by what others think of them. Sometimes a person who goes to church from time to time ascribes to himself all the virtues of Christianity. Although this is far from true.

It often happens that people do not bother thinking about the problem, they just use the prevailing stereotype and adopt it.

For example, these are groups of people who are divided according to the following criteria:

• sexual;
• age;
• Level of education;
• professional;
• Belief, etc.

For example, blondes, in order not to bother themselves, proving the infidelity of the prevailing stereotype, try to conform to the generally accepted opinion. It's easier to live that way. Or women, trying, find a rich groom, with whom they become deeply unhappy, because when choosing, they did not take into account his human qualities.

You can not project the prevailing stereotype on all people to the same extent. It is necessary to proceed in your judgments from the personality of a person, his merits and demerits, life position, etc.

What are the stereotypes?

Note that we are talking about stereotypes! The following are examples of the most popular social stereotypes that are quite common in society:

Gender stereotypes: women and men

Gender stereotypes are among the most striking in modern society

Below is a list of common gender stereotypes with examples - believe me, you see in it a lot of familiar and well-established in the public perception:

1. Woman is a stupid, weak and worthless creature. It is intended to give birth, wash, cook, clean and court her “master” (man) in every possible way. She was born to learn how to properly apply makeup, dress and giggle, only then she has the opportunity to “wrap” a good male who will provide her and her offspring decent life. As long as a woman lives at the expense of a man and obeys him in everything, she has the right to "eat from his table."
2. As soon as the lady from the first paragraph shows character, she becomes a lonely divorcee. You can give a couple of examples single woman stereotype: 1) a divorced single mother - unhappy, lonely, forgotten by everyone;
   2) a widow - a heartbroken and also unhappy woman.
3. A lady should not be strong and fight for her own well-being without the help of a man. Otherwise she is a careerist who does not have time for a family, children and husband. Again, unfortunate!
4. The man is the center of the universe. Strong, smart, handsome (even with a belly and a bald head). He is obliged to earn money in order to satisfy the desires of women.

In fact, men only want sex from women, but they adhere to the rules of the “love” game in order to achieve that same sex.

1. A man shouldn't:

• Talk about your feelings;
• Cry;
• Help the woman around the house.

Otherwise, he does not consider himself a man.

1. A man must:

• Work. And no matter that they pay little, and he is not able to support his family, he still gets tired at work! And hence the origins of the next position;
• Lying on the sofa. After all, he is tired, he is resting;
• Drive. A woman, according to men, has no right to this. Because she's stupid!

In other cases, it is believed that this is not a man, but a worthless creature that “shames” the male gender. The above examples of well-known stereotypes in the perception of communication partners confirm the fact that many of us do not see the essence behind a real person: stuffed from childhood with clichés and clichés, we are not ready to listen to the words loved one and understand their expectations.

Children

Children are obliged:

• To obey the parents;
• To embody the dreams and unfulfilled desires of moms and dads;
• To study "excellent" at school, college and university;
• When parents get old, "bring them a glass of water."

So, the children are disobedient and unbearable, the youth is insane and dissolute.

Old people always grumble and are unhappy with everything

But in old age, all people get sick and complain about life, otherwise they, at least, behave strangely.

Happiness

Happiness is:

• Money;
• High rank.

Everyone else is a miserable loser. Even if a person is absolutely happy, living in a state of trance (in nirvana), and he has nothing for his soul, he is a loser!

"Correct"...

Only in the most eminent institutions do they receive the “correct” education. The “right” people go to work and sit there from bell to bell. "That's right" if you live in your homeland, and do not leave to live in another country. "Correct" to follow fashion trends. It is “correct” to buy an expensive item in a boutique, and not the same in a regular store. It is “correct” to have an opinion that coincides with the opinion of the majority. It's "right" to be like everyone around you.

For people, following stereotypes is fatal. Parents instill in our brain the idea that you can’t stand out from society, you need to live like everyone else. Each of us in childhood was afraid to become a "black sheep" and be expelled from the team. To become different from everyone else means to live by your own rules and think with your own head - to live by straining your brain.

Frame from the film "Agents of A. N. K. L." ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", 2015), where actor Armie Hammer played the principled and impenetrable KGB agent, Ilya Kuryakin

What are professional stereotypes: examples

Professional stereotypes include generalized images of a professional in a particular profession. The most frequently mentioned categories in this regard are:

• 1. police officers. These stereotypes are especially zealously fueled by American films and Russian TV series. Rare, admittedly, the interaction of ordinary citizens with police officers in real life gives rise to a bunch of conjectures that are successfully directed in the right direction from television screens. Most fans of such films are convinced that even the most ordinary policeman is brave, selfless, able to single-handedly defeat a whole gang of thugs.
  2. Doctors. And in reality, there are professionals capable of bringing back to life literally from the other world, but in case of health problems, you should not expect a spectacular appearance in the hospital on a gurney, shouting “Road, road! We are losing him” accompanied by the entire ambulance team - in life, believe me, everything is much more banal, and a smart and insightful doctor, able to make an instant decision in a critical situation for the patient’s life, is, alas, rather a professional stereotype.
  3. The stereotype of someone who knows how to solve from small domestic to global government problems lawyer- another image that came from the American TV series. Litigation in this performance is more like a theater with convulsive wringing of hands, tears in the eyes, and the voice of lawyers breaking from the excitement and tragedy of what is happening.
  4. A vivid example of a professional stereotype has been known to us since Soviet times: worker and farmer. Yes, yes, rural workers and simple hard workers, bursting with health, burning with enthusiasm and thirst labor activity eyes, ready for any sacrifice for the prosperity of industry, agricultural technology, Soviet society and the state as a whole.
  5. Modern students: not very knowledgeable, but proficient in drinking and sex, drug use and organizing violent parties. Perhaps the imposed image is still closer to American society, but Russian students they glance in that direction with admiration - oh, we would like that ...

How to deal with stereotypes?

As it turns out, stereotypes are designed to unload the human brain from unnecessary stress. At the same time, stereotypes limit the mental activity of a person, preventing it from going beyond the boundaries of the standard worldview. If you use the stereotype “it is good where we are not”, then a person is sure that nothing good can happen where he lives. And in that mythical distance, where he never was and never will be, everyone lives under communism and. As a result, you don’t even need to strive to become happy, you still won’t succeed.

But You can't blindly believe everything people say.. And then, the stereotype always has a hidden meaning. In this case, the true meaning of this stereotype is that a person will always think that someone somewhere makes less effort and lives much better.

This causes envy and disappointment in their "unsuccessful" life. It turns out that this opinion is erroneous.

The main way to fight stereotypes is not to believe them. Do not believe what people say, check the information, and based on the conclusions drawn, build your own opinion. Thus, you can refute outdated stereotypes and prevent the emergence of new ones.

Think about how many stereotypes you use all the time. Try to find those that are not supported by facts. The mentioned stereotype that "blonds are all stupid" is a highly controversial statement. Start by listing girls and women with blond hair that you know well. How many of them would you call stupid? Are they all as stupid as the stereotype claims? Look for a rebuttal to statements that are not based on facts.

If you're using the "more expensive is better" stereotype, look for examples of affordable products that are high quality and trendy. At the same time, expensive items do not always meet quality standards.

Beautiful and well-groomed women are often considered stupid and prudent.

Conclusion

So what are stereotypes? This is an ambiguous manifestation of social thinking. They live and will always live, whether we like it or not. They carry information that people have collected and systematized for centuries. Some of them are based on real facts, others are like fictional fairy tales, but they were, are and will be. Decide for yourself which of the stereotypes is harmful to your thinking, and which is useful. Use what you need and get rid of the bad ones.

And, finally, we offer to digress from a serious topic and watch a funny video about street football stereotypes. Yes, and there are!

March 22, 2014, 11:32 am

As such, the properties of stereotypes have not been sufficiently studied in the works of both Western and domestic researchers. However, in our opinion, it is still possible to single out a number of properties that are most often mentioned in the psychological literature.

The main properties of the stereotype:

1) Not developed cognitive component;

2) The polarization of the assessment (overestimation goes through the autostereotype, underestimation - through the heterostereotype);

3) Rigid fixation of the stereotype, stability, which manifests itself in different situations and is, in the opinion of many researchers, the main characteristic of the stereotype;

4) Intensity of emotional manifestation;

5) A concentrated expression of the properties of social attitudes (a clear regulator of group behavior).

As for the functions of stereotypes, they are studied in more detail. There are a number of classifications, of which the most important, in our opinion, are given below.

G. Tezhfel identifies four functions of stereotypes, two of which are implemented at the individual level, two - at the group level.

The meaning of the stereotype at the individual level:

Cognitive (selection of social information, schematization, simplification); - value-protective (creation and maintenance of a positive "I-image").

At the group level:

Ideologizing (the formation and maintenance of a group ideology that explains and justifies the behavior of the group); - identifying (creation and maintenance of a positive group "We-image").

The study of the last two functions will allow, according to Tezhfel, to create a theory of social stereotypes. He emphasizes that social psychology, history, cultural anthropology, and simply everyday experience have already accumulated a large amount of empirical material, indicating that at the group level, social stereotypes really perform these functions.

German researcher U. Quasthoff highlights following features stereotypes:

Cognitive - generalization (sometimes excessive) when ordering information - when something striking is noted. For example, when assimilating a foreign culture in the classroom foreign language one has to replace some stereotypes (regulating the interpretation of speech) with others;

Affective - a certain measure of ethnocentrism in interethnic communication, manifested as a constant selection of "one's own" as opposed to "alien";

Social - the distinction between "intra-group" and "out-of-group": leads to social categorization, to education social structures, which are actively guided in everyday life.

As part of linguistic research stereotypes are interpreted as special forms storage of knowledge and assessments, i.e. concepts of orienting behavior. In stereotyping, researchers see the core of the mechanism of tradition and the ethnic identity of culture. Mental stereotypes are fixed by language or another semiotic code (for example, visual images). They have:

* cognitive function, consisting in generalization in the processing of information;

* affective function - the opposition of "one's own" and "alien";

* social function - the distinction between intra-group and extra-group, which leads to social categorization and the formation of structures that people are guided by in everyday life.

In our opinion, it is necessary to emphasize one feature of the problem of studying stereotypes - the fact that the phenomenon of stereotyping attracted the attention of sociologists much earlier than the attention of psychologists, which had a decisive influence on the meaningful interpretation of the functions of stereotypes and in the actual psychological research. As V.S. Ageev emphasizes, “an undifferentiated idea of ​​​​the social and psychological functions of a social stereotype, due to a mixture of levels of scientific analysis, leads to an unambiguously negative assessment of social stereotypes as a phenomenon not only social, but also psychological” .

A negative idea of ​​stereotypes and their functions did take place in the 1950s and 1960s. Recently, however, this problem is being considered more objectively.

There are different types of stereotypes. In particular, there are autostereotypes, which reflect people's ideas about themselves, and heterostereotypes, which reflect ideas about another people, another social group. For example, what is considered a manifestation of prudence among one's own people, a manifestation of greed among another people. People perceive many stereotypes as models that must be conformed to. Therefore, such fixed ideas have a rather strong influence on people, stimulating in them the formation of such character traits that are reflected in the stereotype.

Stereotypes can be individual and social, expressing ideas about a whole group of people. Social stereotypes include more particular cases of ethnic, gender, political and a number of other stereotypes.

Stereotypes can also be divided into stereotypes of behavior and stereotypes of consciousness. Behavior stereotypes are stable, regularly repeated behavior of a sociocultural group and individuals belonging to it, which depends on the value-normative system functioning in this group.

They are closely related to the stereotypes of consciousness. Stereotypes of consciousness, as fixing the ideal representations of the value-normative system, are the basis for the formation of stereotypes of behavior. Stereotypes of consciousness create models of behavior, stereotypes of behavior introduce these models into life.

When analyzing stereotypes, it is necessary to take into account both negative and positive psychological consequences of stereotyping. On the one hand, the stereotype-derived scheme for judging another person often acts as a prejudice. Arising in conditions of lack of information, the social stereotype often turns out to be false and plays a conservative role, forming people's erroneous ideas about what is happening, deforming the process of interpreting what is happening and the nature of interpersonal interaction. Any social stereotype that turned out to be true in one situation may turn out to be wrong in another and, therefore, ineffective for solving the problem of orienting the individual in the surrounding social world.

On the other hand, the presence of social stereotypes plays a very significant role in social life for the simple reason that without them, in the absence of comprehensive information about what is happening or being observed, neither an adequate assessment nor an adequate forecast would be possible. First, the stereotype makes it possible to drastically reduce the response time to a changing reality; secondly, to speed up the process of cognition; thirdly, to provide at least some primary basis for orientation in what is happening. Stereotypes make it easier to understand, for example, than more stereotypes in the text, the easier it is to understand. Despite the simplification and schematization, stereotypes fulfill the necessary and useful feature in the psychological regulation of the processes of interpersonal understanding. This is possible because in the stereotype the amount of true knowledge often exceeds the amount of false knowledge.

Thus, “understanding stereotypes, firstly, regulate the processes of communication: if a non-combatant and a veteran have similar ideas about the personality of the “Afghans”, then this contributes to the emergence of mutual understanding between them. Secondly, a stereotype is a way of structuring the experience of an understanding subject, a way of organizing knowledge used to understand another person.

Stereotypes of response

Stereotypes of response:

• Wounded pride - disputes, excuses
• Feelings of guilt - excuses
• Resentment - revenge
• Reaction to "bad-good"
• Victory is joyful excitement, Defeat is despondency
• Bosses, authorities - fawning, servility
• “We believe in you, we rely on you” - “I must justify the trust and hopes of the leadership”
• Coercion and restriction of freedom - anger, irritation, confrontation
• Uncertainty - fears (fear, anxiety, concern, nervousness)
• Reciprocity rule
• social proof
• Commitment and Consistency
• Ringelmann effect
• Question answer

According to sociologists and anthropologists, one of the main, most widespread norms of human culture is embodied in reciprocity rule. In accordance with this rule, a person tries in a certain way to repay what another person has provided him. By imposing on the "receiver" an obligation to reciprocate in the future, the reciprocity rule allows one individual to give something to another with the certainty that it will not be completely lost. This confidence makes possible development various kinds long-term relationships, interactions and exchanges that are beneficial to society. Consequently, all members of society are “trained” from childhood to follow this rule. Those who ignore this rule feel a clear disapproval from society.

The reciprocity rule often forces people to conform to the demands of others. The essence of one of the favorite "profitable" tactics of a certain kind of "compliance professionals" is to give something to a person before asking him for a favor in return. This tactic is highly effective due to three aspects of the reciprocity rule. First, this rule is universal, its influence often exceeds the influence of other factors that usually determine compliance. Secondly, this rule comes into force even when we are provided with services that we did not ask for. Thus, our ability to independently make decisions is reduced and the choice for us is made by those to whom we owe something. Finally, the reciprocity rule may encourage unequal exchange. In order to get rid of the unpleasant feeling of moral obligation, people often agree to perform a much more serious service than the one that was rendered by themselves.

There is another way to force a person to make concessions using the reciprocity rule. Instead of being the first to render a favor that will lead to a return favor, the individual may initially make a concession that will push the opponent to return the concession. At the heart of the so-called “rejection-then-retreat” or “how to open a door that has been slammed in your face” technique is the compulsion to give and take. Starting with an extremely inflated demand, which will be necessarily rejected, the demander can then retreat to a more real demand (precisely the one that is really important for him), which will be met with a sufficient degree of probability, since looks like a concession. Research shows that this technique Not only does it increase the likelihood that a person will agree to comply with a particular requirement, rejection-then-retreat also increases the likelihood that a person will comply with similar requirements in the future.

The best defense against the pressure of the reciprocity rule is not to systematically reject offers made by other people. It is necessary to accept the services or concessions of others with sincere gratitude, but be prepared to regard them as clever tricks if they appear to be so later. As soon as concessions or favors are defined in this way, we will no longer feel obliged to respond to them with our own favor or concession.

According to the principle of social proof, people, in order to decide what to believe and how to act in a given situation, are guided by what other people believe and do in a similar situation. The tendency to imitate was found in both children and adults. This propensity manifests itself in a variety of actions, such as making a decision to buy something, donating money to charitable causes, and even releasing phobias. The principle of social proof can be applied to induce a person to comply with this or that requirement; wherein this person report that many people (the more the better) agree or agreed with this requirement.

Principle of social proof is most effective when two factors are present. One of them is insecurity. When people are in doubt, when the situation seems uncertain to them, they are more likely to pay attention to the actions of others and consider these actions to be correct. For example, when people are in doubt about the need to help someone, the actions of other observers influence their decision to help much more than in an obvious emergency. The second factor, in the presence of which the principle of social proof has the greatest influence, is similarity. People are more likely to follow the example of those who are similar to them. Evidence of the powerful impact of the actions of "like others" on people's behavior is contained in suicide statistics compiled by sociologist David Philips. This statistic shows that after widespread media coverage mass media enough suicides big number anxious individuals, in some ways similar to suicide, decide to kill themselves. An analysis of the Jonestown, Guyana mass suicide case suggests that the leader of the group, Rev. Jim Jones, used both the uncertainty factor and the similarity factor to elicit a herd reaction and a desire to commit suicide in most Jonestown residents.

To ensure that inadequate social proof does not affect us strong influence, we must learn to recognize clearly fake evidence and recognize that we should not be guided by the actions of “like others” when making decisions.

Commitment and consistency. Psychologists have long discovered that most people strive to be and appear consistent in their words, thoughts, and deeds. Three factors underlie this tendency to consistency. First, consistency in behavior is highly valued by society. Secondly, consistent behavior contributes to the solution of a variety of tasks in everyday life. Third, consistency orientation creates opportunities for the formation of valuable stereotypes in difficult conditions modern existence. Consistently adhering to previously made decisions, a person may not process all relevant information in standard situations; instead he should just remember earlier decision and react accordingly.

Extremely great importance has an initial obligation. Having made a commitment (that is, having taken a position), people tend to agree to demands that are in line with that commitment. Therefore, many "compliance professionals" try to encourage people to initially take a position corresponding to the behavior that they will later seek from these people. However, not all commitments are equally effective in generating consistent actions in the future. The most effective are active, public commitments. In addition, obligations must be internally motivated (not imposed from the outside) and certain efforts must be expended on their implementation.

Commitment decisions, even erroneous ones, tend to be "self-preserving" because they can "create their own footholds". People often come up with new reasons and excuses to convince themselves of the need to fulfill commitments already made. As a result, some obligations remain in effect even after the circumstances that "created" them change. This phenomenon underlies the extremely effective "low-ball" tactic often used by "compliance professionals."

Ringelmann effect. Psychologists have long known a paradoxical phenomenon called the Ringelmann effect. The first experiments in which this effect was revealed date back to 1927. Then, in the course of experiments with weight lifting in groups of different sizes, it was found that as the number of participants increased, there was a gradual decrease in the average individual contributions to the results of group work. So, if the productivity of one person lifting the barbell is taken as 100%, then two, on average, "four hands" overcome not twice more weight, but only 93% of the amount of weights that two people can lift separately. The efficiency of an individual in a group of three people will already be 85%, and in a group of eight people - only 49%.

In the same way, when solving a tug-of-war problem, each of the participants in a relatively small team makes more efforts than each of the members of a large team, that is, the total strength of the team does not increase in direct proportion to the number of participants, but curvilinearly. As the group grows from 1 to 12 people, the average effort of each person decreases by about 10%.

Dealing with the mysteries of this effect, scientists were forced to ask the question: “Are there conditions under which the group as a whole is capable of surpassing the sum of the achievements of its individual members?” Alas, no satisfactory answer has yet been found. But the hidden motives leading to lower results are approximately clear. Left to himself, a person is forced to answer the question: “If not me, then who?” In the group, the answer seems to be simple: “What are the comrades for?” Having ceased to feel exclusive responsibility for the final result, almost any person obeys the law of energy saving: "What I have not done, others will make up."

The preaching of extreme individualism around the world has long gone out of fashion, because in modern conditions in almost any field (with the possible exception of art) it is impossible to achieve outstanding results alone. But we must also be aware that the cultivated team spirit, multiplied by the Ringelmann effect, does not promise high achievements.

It would probably be possible to overcome the negative trend, as in many other cases, through a compromise. Namely: with all the pluses teamwork individual motivation should not be discounted either. Encouraging the rallying of command ranks, it is not out of place to emphasize the personal responsibility of each worker for a specific area of ​​work. Everyone must be aware that others will not make up for what they have not completed. This is almost impossible in a team consisting of faceless "cogs". Therefore, the cultivation of the individual merits of each employee should become the most important task of personnel management. As academician Aganbegyan wisely remarked: “Nothing can replace a good head.” When an employee feels that it is about his head, he himself will simply be offended to use it half-heartedly.

A stereotype is a variant of a personal attitude. An attitude is a kind of prism through which, under certain conditions or in relation to a certain object, a person perceives the world and behaves in only one way. Our world is saturated with stereotypes. You can't get away from them, as this is a product public consciousness. Stereotypes are both good and bad.

The term "stereotype" was coined in 1922 by sociologist Walter Lippmann. The author interpreted it as "a picture in our head."

Social installation includes 3 components:

• knowledge about the object (cognitive element);
• emotions and evaluation in relation to the object (affective component);
• willingness to act in a specific way (behavioral component).

Stereotype - social attitude with a lack of a cognitive component (lack of knowledge, false information, outdated data). How the installation of a stereotype determines our behavior.

Stereotypical thinking is often limited. It is often guided by outdated, inaccurate, narrow, erroneous ideas about a person, social phenomenon, natural phenomenon and features of interaction with it.

Stereotypes have their pros and cons:

• On the one hand, this limits, prevents disclosure, or simply harms where the object of the stereotype has changed (minus).
• But on the other hand, stereotypes allow you to save time and effort where objects, situations and actions in relation to them are simple and unchanged (plus).
• Stereotypes are dangerous because they can form one expectation, and a person will have to face a completely different reality (minus). Well, if the reality is better. On the contrary, the person runs the risk of being in a state of frustration and maladaptation.
• Stereotypes help save nervous energy, allowing you to act in similar situations by inertia (plus).

Each person has an internal hierarchy of stereotypes. For example, the popular stereotype that a woman should first of all be realized as a hostess, mother, wife, can be in first place for one person and fifth for another.

Stereotypes are formed and fixed at the level of the psyche. Cognitive circuits, or a complex of neural connections, arise in the brain, which provide the same response to repetitive situations. For example, the whole personality can be seen as a cognitive schema, a schema of our personality.

Most often, stereotypes arise in relation to some groups differentiated by gender, age, nation, status, role. For example, the well-known statement that all women are the weaker sex. But stereotypes can speak about the norms of behavior, development, life. Then they are intertwined with values.

Most stereotypes are formed in childhood. The influence is exerted by the environment, any significant people. That is, stereotypes are the consequences of learning in the course of the socialization of the individual. I am sure that you or your entourage will have a couple of statements about any nation with representatives of which you have not even communicated personally.

Stereotypes are both positive and negative, but very often they contain an erroneous generalization.

• For example, what do most people imagine when they hear a woman call herself a housewife? A plump lady with curlers on her head, in a greasy apron, with an exhausted look, not working. In fact, every woman can be called a housewife, and the era of the Internet allows many to work within the walls of the house.
• Or why many people associate the birth of a child with the inevitable collapse of the figure and "launching themselves." In fact, this is an individual choice for each woman.
• There is a popular opinion that old age = wisdom, mind. No, they are not synonyms. As well as respecting a person for one age is impossible. Old people, like teenagers, youth, adults are different. Among them, there are also unpleasant, selfish, asocial personalities.

It can be said that the prejudices of previous generations, the society in which the person was brought up, are collected in personal stereotypes.

Features of stereotypical perception

Thinking through stereotypes is characterized by the following features:

• The projection effect, the essence of which is that when communicating, we endow people with our shortcomings that are unpleasant to us, and with our advantages - pleasant ones.
• The mean error effect, which involves averaging out the pronounced features of another person.
• The effect of order, in which, when communicating with an unfamiliar person, we give more trust to primary information, and when communicating with an old acquaintance, to fresh data.
• The halo effect, or judgment of a person based on one of his actions (good or bad).
• The effect of stereotyping, or endowing a person with characteristic (stereotypical) features for a certain group, for example, focusing on a person's profession.

Types and forms of stereotypes

Stereotypes characterize both individual personality traits and external signs of people. For example, the stereotype about the emotionality of women and the rationality of men (individual-personal characteristics) is alive. There is also a popular stereotype that tattoos are applied only to disadvantaged or socially disadvantaged people. dangerous people, or frivolous (external stereotypes). Or the stereotype that black in clothes is a sign of depression and internal discord.

There is no single classification of stereotypes:

• In one, such types are distinguished (V.N. Panferov): anthropological, social, emotionally expressive.
• Domestic psychologist Artur Alexandrovich Rean singled out anthropological, ethno-national, social-status, social-role, expressive-aesthetic, verbal-behavioral stereotypes.
• O. G. Komarova identified 3 types of stereotypes: ethnic, professional, sex-role.

Thus, the phenomenon of stereotypes can be considered from several positions:

• content;
• adequacy (often based on a true fact);
• the origin of stereotypes (conditions and factors of occurrence);
• the role of stereotypes in human life, the perception of other people and the functioning of society.

Adequate, that is, truthful stereotypes are useful and necessary, since ours also needs to rest. But the influence of inadequate stereotypes should be limited. An adequate stereotype becomes inadequate when the truthful data becomes obsolete due to a change in the object of the stereotype.

How to get rid of stereotypes

We cannot control the process of stereotyping, but we can consciously reduce their influence on our behavior and perception of people. It is impossible to completely get rid of stereotypes.

Based on the fact that a stereotype is a stable and categorical, simplified idea, a judgment about something that is common in the environment of a person who adheres to it, it can be argued that correcting the influence of stereotypes will allow:

• change of environment;
• expansion of knowledge about the stereotype object.

With the first, everything is clear: to leave the country, make new friends, and so on. What about the second point?

Stereotypes are stamps, labels. How to get rid of them? Be critical and selective to incoming information. At a minimum, do not accept any fact until you personally encounter it. It is important not to succumb to the provocations of the media, the pressure of society (even parents and older comrades). Learn to double check information. It's a matter of practice. They heard some fact, doubted it, found several sources, if the information does not diverge, then you can believe it.

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Afterword

Thus, stereotypes can be broken from two positions:

• other people's beliefs through personal example and actions, the search for inner harmony;
• their beliefs through the activity of cognition of the external world.

For example, at a young age there can also be poor health. If you accept this in yourself and others, then already minus one stereotype. On weekends, it is not necessary to run away from home to a cafe or club, you can enjoy the comfort of home. So the second stereotype is broken. There must be children in a marriage, but you have not yet reached your plans for self-realization, are you not ready to take care of children, although your marriage is strong and tested for years? So, no need to have children yet. Know yourself and create the appropriate conditions around.

Make a list of the most popular stereotypes for you and go to destruction. Check them out in person. Self-knowledge and knowledge is the basis for getting rid of stereotypes. In both cases, you will find yourself and be able to control stereotyped behavior and thinking, and not vice versa.

A social stereotype is a relatively stable and simplified image of a social object - a group, person, event, phenomenon, etc. Stereotypes are general opinions about the distribution of tex or other traits in groups of people. For example, “Self-confidence is more common in men than in women”, “Politicians are liars”, Italians are emotional”.

A stereotype usually develops in conditions of information deficiency as a result of generalization personal experience and ideas accepted by society, very often biased. The less close people are to each other, the more they are guided by stereotypes in their relationships. Or than smaller group the less influential it is, the more all members operate with stereotypes.

The social stereotype is not always accurate. Arising in conditions of limited information about the object, the stereotype can turn out to be false and play a conservative or even reactionary role, distorting people's knowledge and seriously deforming interpersonal interactions.

The presence of a social stereotype plays an essential role in assessing the world. It allows you to reduce the response time to a changing reality, speeds up the process of cognition. The main properties of stereotypes:

They are able to influence a person's decision making, often in the most illogical way;

Depending on the nature of the attitude (positive or negative), stereotypes almost automatically “suggest” some arguments in relation to some event, phenomenon and displace others from consciousness that are opposite to the first;

The stereotype has a pronounced concreteness

Stereotypes happen:

• positive;
• negative;
• neutral;
• overly generalized;
• oversimplified;
• accurate;
• approximate.

The definition of the truth or falsity of a social stereotype is usually based on an analysis of a specific situation. Any stereotype, being true in one case, may turn out to be false in another, and therefore ineffective in the orientation of the subject in the surrounding world.

Basic techniques for identifying stereotypes:

- detection of stable topics of conversation, for example, among acquaintances;

- conducting surveys, interviews, questionnaires;

- the method of unfinished sentences, when a person continues the phrase started by the experimenter about a particular phenomenon;

- the method of identifying associations, "when a group of respondents is asked to write in 30 seconds what they associate this or that phenomenon with.

The perception, classification and evaluation of social objects or events by the dissemination of their characteristics expressed by any social group on the basis of certain ideas (stereotypes) is called stereotyping.

Stereotyping serves as a mechanism for mutual understanding, classifying forms of behavior, its causes and explaining them by referring to already known or seemingly known phenomena, categories. Stereotyping reflects the schematic and affective coloring of this kind of assessment of reality.

From a psychological point of view, stereotyping is a process when similar characteristics are given to all members of a group or community without sufficient awareness of the possible differences between them.

Stereotyping performs a number of functions, the most important of which are maintaining the identification of an individual and a group, justifying possible negative attitudes towards other groups, etc. Sometimes stereotyping helps. It is especially easy for people to rely on stereotypes when:

• lack of time;
• excessive employment;
• fatigue;
• emotional, arousal;
• at a too young age, when a person has not yet learned to distinguish the diversity of being.

SOCIAL STEREOTYPES - simplified, schematized images of social objects, shared enough a large number members of social groups. For the first time the term "social stereotype" was used by the American journalist and political scientist W. Lippman in 1922 in the book Public Opinion.

Basic properties of social stereotypes.

Among the most essential properties of ethnic stereotypes, their emotional and evaluative nature is singled out. The emotional aspects of stereotypes are understood as a series of preferences, evaluations and moods. Emotionally colored are the perceived characteristics themselves. Even the description of traits already carries an assessment: it is explicitly or implicitly present in stereotypes, it is only necessary to take into account the value system of the group in which they are common.

Another property of social stereotypes is consistency, or consensus. It was the consistency that the most important characteristic stereotypes A.Teshfel. In his opinion, only ideas shared by a sufficiently large number of individuals within social communities can be considered social stereotypes.

Another essential property of the stereotype since the time of Lippmann is their inaccuracy. In the future, stereotypes received even less flattering characteristics and were interpreted as "traditional nonsense", "direct disinformation", "a set of mythical ideas", etc. Falsity has become so strongly associated with the concept of "stereotype" that a new term "sociotype" has even been proposed to refer to standard but true knowledge about a social group.

Objectively necessary and useful psychological function stereotyping since the time of Lippmann has been considered a simplification and systematization of the abundant and complex information received by a person from environment. Thus, supporters of the theory of "saving resources" see the main function of stereotyping in providing individuals with maximum information with minimal intellectual effort. In other words, stereotypes in the process of social perception relieve individuals of the need to respond to a complex social world, but they are the lowest form of ideas about social reality, which are used only when higher, more accurate and individualized ideas are unattainable.

Tashfel singled out two social functions stereotyping: a) explanation of the existing relations between groups, including the search for the causes of complex and "usually sad" social events; b) justification of existing intergroup relations, for example, actions performed or planned in relation to outgroups. The psychological mechanism of stereotyping has at all times been used in various reactionary political doctrines that sanction the capture and oppression of peoples in order to maintain the domination of the enslavers by planting negative stereotypes about the defeated and enslaved.

ethnic stereotypes- this is one of the types of social stereotypes, namely those that describe members of ethnic groups, are attributed to them or associated with them. To this day, in everyday consciousness and in the mass media, ethnic stereotypes are widely believed to be an exclusively negative phenomenon.

Stereotypes can be individual and social, expressing ideas about a whole group of people. Social stereotypes are more specific cases of ethnic, gender, political and a number of other stereotypes. Stereotypes can also be divided into stereotypes of behavior and stereotypes of consciousness. Behavior stereotypes are stable, regularly repeated behavior of a sociocultural group and individuals belonging to it, which depends on the value-normative system functioning in this group.

They are closely related to the stereotypes of consciousness. Stereotypes of consciousness, as fixing the ideal representations of the value-normative system, are the basis for the formation of stereotypes of behavior. Stereotypes of consciousness create models of behavior, stereotypes of behavior introduce these models into life.