Stereotypes - what is it in psychology (role and types). How to get rid of stereotypes. Types, examples and meaning of stereotypes in modern society

What is a stereotype as a phenomenon of a social system? Representatives of various sciences study the stereotype as part of their tasks. Philosophers, sociologists, culturologists, ethnographers are interested in the ethnic aspects of stereotypes. Psychologists consider the influence of gender stereotypes. Single concept"stereotype" covers all spheres of human life.

Stereotype - what is it?

At the end of the 17th century, the French publisher F. Didot invented a device that saves time, labor and price in printing business. Before the invention, the text for the book each time was typed anew, which led to a huge expenditure of resources. Dido's new creative solution was to make casts from the typed text, then metal stamp plates were cast, allowing books to be printed in large numbers. F.Dido called his invention - a stereotype: "στερεός" - solid "τύπος" - image.

What does a stereotype mean as a concept in modern world? In 1922, Walter Lippmann American publicist introduced the term "stereotype" in public environment and described its meanings as: the impossibility of the individual to know the whole picture real world without simplification. A person carries out his activities, relying not on obvious direct knowledge, but on ready-made cliché templates introduced by others: relatives, acquaintances, the system, the state.

Types of stereotypes

A child is born and with mother's milk absorbs lullabies, fairy tales, traditions and legends belonging to his ethnic group. Growing up, the baby learns the norms and regulations that are characteristic of his family and clan as a whole. Educational institutions are contributing. This is how stereotypical thinking is gradually formed. A person is literally “overgrown” with stereotypes. Common types of stereotypes identified by different experts:

stereotypes of thinking
stereotypes of behavior;
ethnocultural stereotypes;
response stereotypes;
communication stereotypes, etc.

The functions of stereotypes can be conditionally divided into "positive" and "negative". The main positive aspect of the stereotype is saving mental activity person. A person, in his short life, cannot know everything about everything, but on the basis of the experience of others, he can have an idea of many things, even if they are not related to his reality. The negative aspect is that personal experience(even a single one) confirming the correctness of one or another stereotype is fixed in the subconscious and makes it difficult to perceive people, phenomena in a different way.

Gender stereotypes

A person performs various social roles, including gender ones. The gender role determines the norms of behavior of the recommended, based on belonging to a male or female gender and cultural characteristics of the country. What's happened ? The role of a man or woman in society is determined by many traditions and way of life that have been established over the centuries. So far, stereotypes have not become obsolete, the echo of which can be traced in proverbs and sayings of different peoples:

woman - the keeper of the hearth;
a man is a provider;
women are fools;
a woman without children is like a tree without branches;
a lonely woman is a wingless bird;
a man without a wife is like a barn without a roof;
a man promises, a man fulfills;
the little man is not a flirt, but loves to fight.

ethnic stereotypes

Effective international communication today plays important role in achieving peace and cooperation among peoples. National stereotypes are the cultural representations of a people as a nation about themselves (autostereotypes) and about other peoples (heterostereotypes) developed over the centuries. The study of stereotypes of ethnic groups - helps to find out the features, habits, culture for useful interaction between different countries.

Social stereotypes

What is a social stereotype? Stable and simplified matrices of images of social objects (person, group, profession, gender, ethnic group). At the same time, stereotypes of thinking can turn out to be false and form erroneous knowledge. As a rule, the stereotype is based on observations based on real facts and personal experience, but sometimes the stereotype plays a destructive role when it is applied in a situation that falls out of the general template and “sticking” labels on a person occurs. Examples of social stereotypes:

without "blat" it is impossible to build a successful career;
the child must be obedient;
to be successful, you need to graduate from a prestigious university;
all men need only one thing from women...;
all accountants are bores, and lawyers are crooks;
money is evil;
Japanese cars are the highest quality;
Jews are the most cunning;
a man is a womanizer, a drunkard.

Cultural stereotypes

Cultural stereotypes of the society affect the emotions of a person, which are associated with physicality and are supported by gestures. Emotions and gestures are a universal language among peoples similar in cultural customs, but in selected countries can take on the opposite meaning. Before you travel to other countries, it is useful to study the customs of these states. It combines Culture: stereotypes of goal-setting, communication, perception, worldview. Stereotypical behavior is an important stage in the formation of rituals (religious) of different cultures.

Popular stereotypes

What is a stereotype - this question is mostly answered “correctly”, “stereotypically”. Society is accustomed to thinking in popular terms, the reason for this lies in the lack or shortage of information and the inability to confirm this information. The stereotype of thinking (mental attitude) - “I am like everyone else” means belonging to my family, group, people, state and has reverse side: drives into the framework of restrictions, impoverishes the personal experience of a person's experiences. Popular stereotypes accepted in society:

audacity second happiness;
figure standard - 90/60/90;
it is good there - where we are not;
beats - it means loves;
eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend, give dinner to an enemy;
a woman on a ship - to be in trouble;
get married before 30;
girls should wear pink, boys blue;
women are the weaker sex;
expensive means high quality;

Stereotypes about Russians

Stereotypes about Russia can be traced in various tales and anecdotes, invented both by the Russians themselves and by other peoples. Stereotypically, Russians appear in jokes as “boys-shirts, extremely hardy, loving to drink and make a fuss.” Interest in Russia is great. This power remains a mysterious and majestic, and for some, a hostile country. What do representatives of other states think about the country, Russian women and men:

Russians are the most drinkers;
bears walk the streets;
Russian girls are the most beautiful;
men, walk with a stone face, do not smile;
Russia is a country of balalaikas, nesting dolls and blouses;
the most hospitable;
uneducated and illiterate;
girls dream;

Stereotypes about the French

The whole world follows the French catwalks with trepidation, buys French perfume, and is touched by the most romantic films on the planet. "See Paris and die!" - a phrase said by the Soviet writer-photographer I. Ehrenburg - has long become winged and is said with an aspiration and a dreamy look. Stereotypes of France strongly associated with this beautiful country:

French women are the most sophisticated, elegant;
Paris - dictates fashion to everyone else;
the French are the best lovers in the world;
croissants, wine, foie gras, frogs, baguettes and oysters are the daily national food;
beret, vest, red scarf - standard clothing
the most smoking nation in the world;
strikes and demonstrations "for" and "without cause";
the most inveterate pessimists;
freedom of morals and frivolous behavior;
get annoyed if foreigners mispronounce words in French;
patriots of their homeland affectionately call the country "La dos France" ("France dear").

Stereotypes about Americans

America is a country of contrasts and unlimited possibilities, where the most cherished dreams come true - this is how Americans think about their state. The United States is a country largely incomprehensible to the Russian mentality, causing some rejection, and in the light of the existing tense relations between Russia and America, distrust of the most smiling American nation. Myths and stereotypes about Americans:

a nation of fast food and fat people;
like to organize surprises;
want to take over the whole world;
lack of style and taste in clothes;
the most patriotic nation;
every American has a gun;
not shy about expressing emotions.

Stereotypes about the British

What associations do people have who have never been to England, but have heard about this country? Those who studied English at school remember the famous clockwork Big Ben (Big Ben) and that England is a country of rain, fog and oatmeal for breakfast. There are legends about the stiffness of the English. English detective stories about Sherlock Holmes are loved to be read all over the world. Stereotypes about the British:

constantly talking about the weather;
they drink tea according to the schedule;
the English are the most polite;
arrogant snobs;
conservatives;
strange English humor;
everyone goes to the pub;
the most law-abiding citizens.

It is no secret that society lives in a world of stereotypes and conjectures that arise due to a trivial lack of information (and in some cases, knowledge). This article will talk about the origin of this term and what social stereotypes exist.

Stereotype: what is it

Stereotype is a term from social psychology. In the broad sense of the word, these are certain beliefs that relate to any category of people, as well as a certain model of behavior that is used to determine the entire group of such people or their behavior as a whole. A stereotype is a concept that has much in common with such terms as "custom" and "tradition".

These thoughts or beliefs do not always accurately reflect reality. In psychology and other sciences, there are various concepts and theories of stereotypes that have common features, and also contain contradictory elements.

Origin of the term

It is necessary to know the etymology of this word in order to understand its essence. "Stereotype" comes from the Greek words στερεός (stereo) - "solid, hardened" and τύπος (typos) - "impression", therefore, this word can be translated as, "a solid impression from one or more ideas/theories".

This term was originally used mainly in typography. It was first used in 1798 by Firmin Didot to describe a printing plate that replicated any printed matter. A duplicate of a printed form, or a stereotype, is used for printing instead of the original. Outside the context of typography, the first use of the word "stereotype" dates back to 1850. It was used in the sense of "perpetuation without change." However, it was not until 1922 that the term "stereotype" was first used in the modern psychological sense. American journalist Walter Lippmann in his work " Public opinion". Gradually, this term comes into use and is constantly used as in speech ordinary people as well as in the media.

Types of stereotypes

Social stereotypes can be divided into main subspecies:

Stereotypes relating to peoples and entire races (for example, stereotypes about Russians and Jews).
About the rich and the poor.
Concerning men and women.
About sexual minorities.
Age (how a person should behave at a particular age).
Stereotypes related to any profession.

These are just some of the prejudices that affect social norms and behavior of people.

Stereotype functions

First Scientific research claiming that stereotypes are used only by tough and authoritarian people. This idea has been refuted by modern research, which suggests that stereotypes of society exist everywhere.

It has also been proposed to consider stereotypes as a kind of belief of a group of people, which means that people belonging to the same social group, have the same set of stereotypes. Modern research argue that a full understanding of this concept requires considering it from two complementary points of view: both divided within a particular culture / subculture, and formed in the mind of an individual.

Gender Studies

Gender bias is one of the most dominant in the public mind. For this reason, gender differences between men and women have been studied by experts from various scientific directions for a very long time. Long time main goal scientists who studied the differences between men and women were to find scientific evidence for gender stereotypes and thereby provide a reliable justification for the prevailing stereotypes regarding gender roles.

But given task has not been resolved: most studies have found much more similarities than differences between the two opposite sexes, and the small differences that are detected usually have an obviously social basis. For example, men, in contrast to the fair sex, according to the traditional gender role, report that they are not too emotional and sensitive. However, measurements of physiological reactions and their facial expressions have repeatedly shown that there are no differences directly in emotional reactions between opposite sexes.

Other scientific evidence once again confirms that men feel anger, sadness and anxiety just as often as women, but at the same time express anger and suppress other negative emotions more often, while women, on the contrary, suppress anger and express sadness and fear.

This once again confirms that these are the stereotypes of the perception of our society, which make it very difficult to see the objective reality.

Impact of gender bias

Like other social stereotypes, gender prejudices perform the function of justifying social, namely sexual, inequality. This type of stereotyping disturbs both women and men. For example, stereotypes that prescribe women to be gentle and condemn the display of aggression and assertiveness often contribute to discrimination against the fair sex in the workplace.

Most stereotypes attribute positive properties to women: sensuality, intuitiveness and care. According to experts, in societies with such stereotypes, such character traits are not valued as much as rationality and activity, which are inherent in stronger sex. Thus, these stereotypes create and perpetuate androcentrism - the belief that men are the norm, regarding which the female gender is, in fact, a deviation.

As many scientific data show, adherence to these stereotypes and patriarchal views on the roles of men and women is one of the main characteristics of men who commit domestic and sexual violence against women. Domestic violence is always closely related to the desire of the stronger sex to dominate.

Prejudice also harms men who, for one reason or another, are not in strong position. For example, men who have experienced sexual violence, due to the pressure of these stereotypes, very rarely ask for help, and even if they ask, they often do not receive it, since doctors and police do not believe that men could become a victim of this type of violence. Society is gradually recognizing that these stereotypes are very often far from reality.

Glass ceiling

All these factors create the effect of the so-called "glass ceiling". This concept comes from the psychology of sex, which was introduced in the mid-1980s to describe the barrier in career growth). This "ceiling" limits the movement of the female career ladder for reasons unrelated to their level of professionalism. Subsequently, the term was extended to representatives of other social groups and minorities (ethnic minorities, representatives of non-traditional orientation, etc.). Of course, this ceiling does not officially exist, since it is unspoken.

Career implications

According to women's rights organizations, women still face this invisible ceiling today. Thus, about 80% of the leaders of America's top 500 companies are men, despite the fact that women make up a significant proportion of all workers at the grassroots levels in firms.

This barrier, according to experts, exists because of the established stereotypes regarding the female gender and other social groups that are oppressed. In this category of persons, the appearance of the so-called fear of success is even possible. According to modern researchers, the main obstacles on the way of women to high and responsible positions are the traditional personnel policy of firms, which believes that a woman is not suitable for the role of a leader.

national prejudices

Almost any nationality has developed one or another stereotype. For example, all Jews are pragmatic and greedy, Germans are born pedants, and Italians are the most passionate men.

One of the most important prejudices about Russians is the opinion about the general alcoholism of the Russian population.

However, according to world statistics on the consumption of alcoholic beverages by country, Russia is far from the first place. It should be recognized that this is a stereotype that has no real basis. The first places in this rating belong to Moldova, Ireland and Hungary.

Another stereotype about Russia is that supposedly Russians are a gloomy and unfriendly people. Of course, it is not in the Russian tradition to smile at every passerby. But there is hardly another such nation in Europe that treats other people's grief or worldly difficulties so responsibly. In some settlements in Russia, even now you can knock on the door and ask for an overnight stay. The uninvited guest, of course, will be fed and allowed to stay the night.

There are also stereotypes about Russian women. For example, it is believed that Russian ladies are the most beautiful and feminine among all European women. However, other Slavic women can boast of their attractive appearance. Polish and Ukrainian women are also famous in the bride market in Europe.

Of course, there are a lot of stereotypes about Russia. They are mainly distributed in Western countries who have always feared a mighty and big Russia.

Every questionable fact is worth checking for authenticity. Very often it turns out that this is a stereotype, just someone's opinion, which has nothing to do with reality.

Features of stereotypes
Types of stereotypes
Cons of stereotypes
Where do stereotypes come from?

“Don’t date him - he’s good for your father”, “I need to lose weight, my waist is 3 centimeters more than normal”, “All the British are stiff, and the Americans are stupid.” Here are the typical prevailing stereotypes that can often be found in modern society. Because of such prejudices, great love can be destroyed by a banal age difference, girls undermine their health by following the standards of 90-60-90, people prefer not to make friends with foreigners. The power of stereotypes is enormous. Let's see what it is, what harm a stereotype can do to personality development, and what benefits can be derived from this phenomenon.

The etymology of this word goes back to typography. That was the name of the special clichés that were used in typewriters. Today, of course, everyone knows this word differently, more close to a person areas in psychology. Depending on the scientific school, modern stereotypes can be interpreted in different ways. However, their general idea is the same - it is an established opinion about people, nationalities, deeds or actions. The first scientist to use the word "stereotype" in relation to a psychological phenomenon was the journalist Walter Lippman. His work was written back in the 20s of the last century, during which time the methods for assessing stereotypes have changed.

What creates stereotypes of people? Where do they come from? Undoubtedly, a person uses own experience, generalizes it, turns it into a stereotype. We are afraid of making a mistake again, so we can, for example, not start business with people of another nationality after a negative experience with one of them. However, there is a broader concept of social stereotypes. They are also created on the basis of experience, only this experience lasts for several centuries. It is experience and time that are the main sources of stereotypes. A social stereotype is not created in one day, but it is also impossible to destroy it in one day. This takes a long time.

Features of stereotypes

According to Walter Lippmann, all stereotypes have four characteristics:

they are schematic, do not reflect the reality in full;
they are false, do not give a real idea of a person or object;
they are tenacious, it takes time to destroy the stereotype;
they are rarely recreated by one person, they are usually the product of the work of society as a whole.

Types of stereotypes

autostereotypes and heterostereotypes

An autostereotype is a person's idea of himself, and a heterostereotype is an opinion about a large group of people, about nationality or race. Heterostereotypes can change in different social groups. Some peoples may view over-thrift as thrift or thrift, while others may see it as greed.

individual and social

Individual stereotypes refer to only one person. They can come from negative or positive experiences. Social stereotypes are a fairly broad category, including political, ethnic, and gender stereotypes that accompany society as a whole.

Should we be afraid of stereotypes?

Naturally, an unmotivated fear of people of a different race, an unreasoned desire to look like catwalk stars is an ambiguous phenomenon that can frighten us. The word has a negative connotation. However, a stereotype is a way of classifying the modern world. Mankind is accustomed to distinguish between friends and foes, these categories work not only to the detriment. We try to generalize our environment so as not to waste mental resources on constant evaluation. Therefore, stereotypes of behavior are incredibly important. We immediately see whether a person belongs to the category of our own or others, we understand what to expect from him. This saving, on the one hand, has a positive effect on our personality, we devote time to something else. But that is precisely what it is Negative influence stereotypes for self-development.

Cons of stereotypes

A progressive person who pays attention to the development of his personality will definitely say that stereotypes are nonsense, that he will never give preference to young man solely because of age, will never refuse to help people of another nationality. All this can be said with pathos and zeal, but in 5 minutes the same promising and self-developing person will laugh at a joke about blondes. Yes, the association of hair color with intelligence is also a stereotype. One gets the feeling that at some point, stereotypes cease to function as a filter, but begin to project negativity, distrust on people or actions that are considered “strangers” in the value system. This is due to the fact that stereotypes are in the same chain with prejudices and prejudices. The last two concepts are already more negative, they can cause discrimination. Stereotypes are our shield from reality. It protects us from grief or feelings that we may experience for people labeled in our minds with the label “strangers”. That is, we cease to sympathize with people of a different race, religion, nationality solely because of the pressure of stereotypes. Naturally, such an approach is impossible for humanity, because the stereotypes of society really become a pretext for insensitivity.

However, not only negative attitude to a phenomenon or a social group can be called a minus of stereotypes. Positive prejudices lead to excessive gullibility, errors and distortion of the interpretation process. An older person may be more capable of working, but often he is refused at an interview, preferring a young specialist. Naturally, such bias negatively affects the success of the company.

Where do stereotypes come from?

There is an opinion that social stereotypes are a long-standing phenomenon carried through a generation. This is partly true, but a person absorbs all the information about them from the environment, upbringing, stories and attitudes of parents. Often a stereotype can be imposed by society. A person may not feel fear or dislike for a certain category of people and actions, but he adopts wariness because of the fear of making a mistake. Although society tends to change its attitude towards stereotypes. Some phenomena can change drastically over the years and centuries.

One of the visual ways to study your own stereotypes based on implicit associations is the site Harvard University. Tests are divided into categories - race, skin color, nationality. Simple tasks reveal your preferences. Probably, someone will be surprised by the data obtained, while someone, on the contrary, expects a similar result. Worth a try, perhaps the tests will be able to open your eyes to many things.

Yes, it takes quite a long time to break stereotypes. It is likely that you may be wary of your colleague of a different nationality. But for the full development of personality, it is not necessary to give stereotypes power over common sense. Perhaps this colleague is able to work well with you in a team, you just have to open up to him. And you can, breaking stereotypes, get rid of unmotivated negative attitudes.

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Western tradition (W. Lippman)

Found in stereotypes, and the concept itself has become firmly established in everyday language.

Saving effort

The area of stereotyping ranges from delusional fantasies to the deliberate use by scientists of rounded calculation results. All human culture is mainly (in Lippmann's interpretation, of course) selection, reorganization, tracking different models environment. That is, the formation of stereotypes is an economy of one's own efforts, since an attempt to see all things anew and in detail, and not as types and generalizations, is tedious, but for busy person practically doomed to fail. In addition, cases of refusal of typings should be noted: in a close circle there is no way to replace an individualized understanding with something or somehow save on it. Those whom we love and admire, for the most part, are men and women, they know ourselves rather than the classification under which we can be summed up.

World markup

In addition to saving effort, stereotypes seem to serve another function: stereotype systems can serve as the core of our personal tradition, a way to protect our position in society. They represent an ordered, more or less consistent picture of the world. Our habits, tastes, abilities, pleasures and hopes are conveniently located in it. The stereotypical picture of the world may be incomplete, but it is a picture of a possible world to which we have adapted. In this world, people and objects occupy their designated places and act as expected. We feel at home in this world, we component his.

Therefore, it is not surprising that any change in stereotypes is perceived as an attack on the foundations of the universe. This is an attack on the foundations of our world, and when we are talking about serious things, it is really not so easy for us to admit that there is any difference between our personal world and the world in general.

The stereotype system is not just a way of replacing the lush variety and disordered reality with an orderly representation of it, only an abbreviated and simplified way of perceiving. Stereotypes serve as a guarantee of our self-respect; project into external world awareness of our values; protect our position in society and our rights, and therefore, stereotypes are filled with feelings, preferences, likes or dislikes, are associated with fears, desires, drives, pride, hope. The object that activates the stereotype is evaluated in connection with the corresponding emotions.

Stereotypes and prejudices

IN Everyday life it is the (a priori) judgment that precedes the receipt of the relevant data that contains the conclusion that these data most often confirm. Justice, forgiveness, truth do not enter into this judgment, because it precedes the receipt of factual data. Prejudice, of course, can be identified, taken into account and finalized. But since the life of a person is limited, he must, in the time allotted to him, receive all the information necessary for the development of a vast civilization, so he cannot do without prejudices.

In everyday consciousness and in the mass media, stereotypes are widely believed to be an exclusively negative phenomenon. This is largely due to the fact that in world science, negative stereotypes, for example, of ethnic minorities subjected to discrimination, were most often studied. However, the stereotype can be both negative and positive, therefore it is necessary to distinguish between a stereotype and prejudices, which are only negative (in the book of Gadamer G.G. "Truth and Method" an apology for prejudices was successfully carried out and it was shown that prejudices can also be positive).

Dynamics of stereotypes

The stereotype begins to act even before the mind turns on. This leaves a specific imprint on the data that is perceived by our senses even before these data reach the mind. Nothing is more resistant to education or criticism than a stereotype, since it leaves its mark on the actual data at the moment of their perception.

To a certain extent, external stimuli, especially spoken or printed ones, activate some part of the stereotype system, so that the immediate impression and the previously formed opinion appear in the mind at the same time.

In cases where experience conflicts with a stereotype, a twofold outcome is possible: if an individual has already lost a certain flexibility or, due to some significant interest, it is extremely inconvenient for him to change his stereotypes, he can ignore this contradiction and consider it an exception that confirms the rule, or find some error, and then forget about this event. But if he has not lost his curiosity or the ability to think, then the innovation integrates into the already existing picture of the world and changes it.

Sex stereotypes

Sex stereotypes are socially shared ideas about personal qualities and behavioral models of men and women, as well as the gender specificity of social roles.

Stereotype scheme

Awareness of the need to conceptualize the stereotype came in the course of experiments to develop conditioned reflexes on positive and negative sound and skin stimuli alternating through identical pauses. The revealed effect was that after the strengthening of such activity, new reflexes were developed very quickly, and in some cases arose from the very first application of new stimuli, while the previously formed rhythm of excitation and inhibition was reproduced, corresponding to the order of application of positive and negative signals.

The brain reacts to a change in the external stereotype with a number of characteristic rearrangements, which are reflected in individual links of the system, in the entire system, or, finally, in the entire higher nervous activity. External changes can lead to both improvement and deterioration higher functions up to the development of a deep neurosis. Pavlov drew attention to the fact that "the processes of setting a stereotype and breaking it are subjectively diverse positive and negative feelings."

In terms of content, the connection between Pavlov’s “dynamic stereotypy” and Lippmann’s stereotypes seems to be quite transparent (for both, it is important that a stereotype is a mold of the surrounding reality that allows one to adapt to diversity), although the difference in approaches to study is clear: Lippman focuses on the sociality of stereotypes and what meaning they play in the functioning of society and communities, and Pavlov - on the physiology of nervous activity.

Notes

Literature

Lippman W. Public opinion / per. from English. T. V. Barchunova, ed. K. A. Levinson, K. V. Petrenko. Moscow: Institute of the Public Opinion Foundation, 2004
Sudakov KV Dynamic stereotypes, or Information imprints of reality. M.: PER SE, 2002
Oslon A. Walter Lippman on stereotypes: extracts from the book "Public Opinion" // Social Reality, 2006, No. 4, pp. 125-141.

Stereotypes. Windmills our consciousness. We are for them and Don Quixote, and Sancho Panza, and just passing by secondary characters. Where do stereotypes come from? Why are we so strongly attached to them? Every person, hand on heart, with due striving for “cooperation with the investigation”, can find at least one stereotype in his picture of the world. After all, there are so many of them: national, gender, dynamic, religious, social - and you never know any good created by the hands and minds of mankind.

People tend to think stereotypically. Relax. That is life.

Psychologist's comment

Such is the peculiarity of human nature that next to each stereotype, our most secret fears go hand in hand. The trick is that a surge of any mental energy is in 99% of cases a fear that the victim of stereotypical thinking may not be aware of. It can be either one's own or a much weaker, borrowed one.

National stereotypes

An excellent example is national stereotypes. Psychologists have long explored the reasons why ethnic stereotypes are formed. There are quite a few of them and not all of them are harmless:

All Chinese and Germans are desperate workaholics
All Russians wear earflaps, constantly play the balalaika and drink vodka.
Natives of Central Asia illiterate and willing to work for food people
All Americans are huge smiling airships dreaming of taking over the universe
All Englishmen are arrogant snobs
All Italians are sanguine
All Frenchmen are gallant D'Artagnans

For people of a conservative mindset, especially those whose ideas about life have long been formed - all those who are outside a stable model of the worldview system - are incomprehensible and alien. Worse than that, the ideal ground for conflicts is the migration processes in society. Strangers, and even on their own territory - this noticeably annoys many people. Thus, these individuals have only two ways to build relationships with strangers: either to recognize them as equal, or even superior competitors, or to discriminate in every possible way the object that causes irritation according to a distinctive and necessarily uncharacteristic feature of the discriminator. Accordingly, stereotypes and discrimination often go hand in hand.

To be completely honest, such a time bomb is ticking in the mental structure of almost every adult individual. And that's okay! Of course, if a person knows how to reach an internal agreement and interact with his fears in a behavioral way that is acceptable from the point of view of modern ethics. The flexibility of the mind is not an innate property, but easily acquired, there would be a desire and motivation.

Fighting stereotypes

It's no secret that today it's fashionable to fight all sorts of prejudices and stereotypes. This trend is especially pronounced in countries Western Europe. It is fashionable to refute the foundations of the foundations. It is even more fashionable to choose something exceptional, going beyond the generally accepted rules. This trend manifests itself especially clearly in matters relating to the norms of morality and ethics. Who knows where all this will lead. It is quite possible that yesterday's prejudices will become the norm, and stereotypes - we are on the verge of new milestone development of mankind. Clip thinking and clip standards are in themselves a kind of stereotype built into an absolute dogma.

Gender stereotypes

To believe stereotypes or not is a personal matter for each person, but what if you personally fell under the distribution? Oh, it's just an incredible expanse! Perhaps the most popular stereotypes in Russia are gender roles, both in the family and in the professional field. They are so stable that they could not be eradicated from the heads of the Slavophiles for seventy extra years active building of communism. Even worse, the post-war Soviet economy, literally restored from the ashes in just a few years. And all this in conditions of total gender imbalance!

Today, if not laziness, you will find a huge galaxy of fashion trends and orthodox worldviews that mark the place of a woman in the family and society. Yes, these are well-known Islamists, Slavs - house builders (Rodnovers like them). This is with regard to domestic aspects and family relations. Things are much more interesting with the so-called gender criteria for professional suitability. IN this case under the distribution risk to please both women and men. A bearded joke about a cat - a programmer and a vacancy in a circus, for sure, everyone heard. But discrimination against men working within “female” professions is not an example less common, but it also happens.

By the way, all of the above is happening in a country where 85% of the population grew up in a same-sex family (from mom and grandmother, and what are you talking about?). It would seem - a reliable inoculation against any stereotypes. No, it's a trend recent years- collections of bearded boys, with pathos broadcasting about the role of women in the family, society, business and even art.

Social stereotypes

Unlike others, these stereotypes are the most short-lived and easily suggestible. In fact, this is a sore not of an individual, but of social communities, between which an individual moves in one way or another throughout his life. What are they, social stereotypes?

Here are the most typical examples:

The children of rich people are mediocre slackers
All old people are grumpy
All rich people are evil and greedy
Today's youth do not want and do not know how
Etc.

Professional stereotypes

stereotypes associated with labor activity a person is classified as a professional. The most popular among them:

All programmers are puny nerds, always wearing glasses and crooked teeth. And yes, every programmer is simply obliged to be well versed not only in mathematics, but also in computer repair.
All accountants are very principled and serious people who can add and multiply three-digit numbers in their minds.
All politicians are for sale
All entrepreneurs are shameless traders
All military men are tall
All salespeople are necessarily hypersociable extroverts.
All lawyers are meticulous bores who read and follow absolutely all the rules, even technical instructions to household appliances
All artists and poets are optional and untidy slobs
All writers love to smoke a pipe and talk about lofty matters.

Originally Russian question

The victim of a stereotype can be both a repeater of delusion and a receiving, seemingly uninterested party. It's funny, but there are wandering unique ones in the vastness of our vast country - two in one. This is often found among adolescents who consciously choose a socially correct profession, throwing their natural data and abilities into the farthest corner of the darkest ideological closet.

The drama of intrapersonal contradiction is the active imposition of one's own self-criticism on rigid parental stereotypes. The criteria for success, correctness, relevance - in general, the phenomena are very ambiguous, and then there is also external pressure. Quite a disaster! After all, in the modern world, sooner or later such people are washed to their “native” shores, but how much time is wasted!?

Until it's too late, let's look for the answer to the notorious question of the classic. What to do with all this disgrace? What to do if among all of the above you have found your portrait or an example from your own life?

Naturally, the first step is problem awareness.
Second - creation of a new model of the world. The model that will become your guiding star, new card with which you can achieve peace and harmony in your own soul.

And the final, final and, perhaps, the most difficult step - accepting yourself new, for now old map peace. Your brain, psyche, soul and even body will take some time to adapt. A somewhat mechanical formulation, but any process of learning and adopting innovations is biological in nature. Even in such seemingly abstract things. This is by no means a five-minute process. Be patient and the boundaries of your world will become wider 🙂