Stereotypes

Sometimes negative reactions do not result from actual interaction but rather from the fixed, preconceived beliefs we have about other people. These over-generalized beliefs or "stereotypes" frequently shape people's perceptions of each other.

Stereotypes originate and develop from numerous sources such as jokes, textbooks, movies, and television. Movies about cowboys and Indians portray cowboys as "civilized" and Indians as wild and "primitive". A child who knows about the American Indian only through watching these movies will have a distorted and false image of this group of people. Stereotypes perpetuate inaccuracies about religious, racial, and cultural groups.

Stereotypical beliefs prevent us from seeing people as individuals with unique characteristics. Negative stereotypes lead to prejudice: suspicion, intolerance, or hatred of other cultural groups. The close relationship between prejudice and stereotypes is illustrated in the following example:

Mr. Bias is a director of a small private company. He is interviewing candidates for the position of assistant manager. He selects a bright and ambitious applicant. Later, he discovers that this applicant is from the country of Levadel (a fictitious nation). Since he thinks that all Levadelians are stupid and lazy, he decides to select someone else for the position.

Unfortunately there was nothing that this applicant could have done to prove that he was indeed qualified for the job. Rejected on the basis of his nationality, the applicant was a victim of an irrational belief.

Stereotypical remarks can be made casually in daily conversations and may or may not have serious consequences. Nevertheless, people's initial impulse is to become angry rather than to clarify the distortion. Educating others is one way to try to correct misperceptions. At the same time, individuals need to become fully aware of their own preconceptions. Establishing personal relationships with individuals from different religions, cultures, or races may be the best way to break down stereotypes and prejudice.

Cultural conflicts occur as a result of misinterpretations, ethnocentrism, stereotypes, and prejudice. Preventing these conflicts is possible with increased awareness of our own attitudes as well as sensibility to cross-cultural differences. Developing intercultural sensitivity does not mean that we need to lose our cultural identities—but rather that we recognize cultural influences within ourselves and within others.