Almost every day, individuals listen to those whose opinion on a particular problem is essential to them. They share emotions, feelings, and experiences with others or answer their questions. At the same time, people tend to believe in the words of others, although they understand that their judgments are subjective. This is how stereotypes are born: a certain level of knowledge is superimposed on a person’s emotional attitude to an object or phenomenon. Moreover, humans begin to encounter social stereotypes that have become known through the media, family, friends, and religion since childhood. Even though stereotypes are often biased statements, they help us learn much about the environment.
People involuntarily compare everything surrounding them with their inner ideals. This idea explains why stereotypes can be colored positively or negatively. All biases reflect the peculiarities of perception and simplify the process of cognition of reality by individuals (Wing & Gross, 2018). However, in most cases, this reality is not objective because the stereotype is a prejudiced opinion. Hence, it should be considered a social concept through which people learn.
For instance, the short story “A Brief Friendship” provides an episode where a racial stereotype dissipates through interaction. The Millers were increasingly curious about a couple they met on a road trip to Montana. The narrator mentions that while spending time with the Millers, she received a revelation that changed her life when Mary Miller admitted that she had never had the opportunity to communicate with a black woman (Thomas, 2021). Apparently, she had a biased opinion about the Afro-American community imposed by the media.
Normally, stereotypes impose a particular conduct pattern that is difficult to change, yet some situations make people adjustable. It means once humans observe a case they have already encountered, they use a specific behavioral model. For example, Mary never saluted a black woman because of her inner prejudice (Thomas, 2021). However, when she met the narrator, her intention to dissolve the bias grew strong, and she made a confession (Thomas, 2021). It proves that once an individual faces an exception out of a stereotype, they experience frustration followed by an urge to explore more about the origins of a bias.
Under the media’s influence, individuals tend to create stereotypes about race or nationality. I was highly disturbed by George Floyd’s murder, which raised heated debates all over America. The situation made me contemplate that racial prejudice is no longer viable since every race’s representative undergoes different situations in life. Even though I was never invested in the talks about racial stereotypes, now I have my point on it. People need to learn through biases by clarifying, which means that being genuine and asking questions are simple actions that can help dissipate the wrong perception (Wing & Gross, 2018). Thus, people must be more open to communication to learning from experience and not commonly accepted stereotypes.
In summation, social stereotypes play a significant role in the life of a modern person. There are an infinite number of examples of the influence of stereotypes on a man. Even though it is impossible to give a detailed assessment of this phenomenon, it can be considered positive since it structures specific knowledge and sometimes helps understand the current situation. False stereotypes that guide people’s behavior essentially program them to destroy the communication that has not yet been established, mutual understanding with other individuals.
References
Thomas, V. (2021). Blended: Perspectives on belonging. Stardust Press.
Wing, K. & Gross, M. (2018). How to recognize, avoid, and stop stereotype threat in your class this school year. Digital Promise. Web.