Most people would agree that stereotyping someone is an unjust action, however people unknowingly stereotype every stranger they see. When walking down the street and seeing a homeless man sitting down asking for change, most people would assume that the homeless man is living an unhappy life or has a drug addiction. This is an example of stereotyping, based off the man just appearing to be homeless. However, stereotyping does not necessarily always have negative impact. Stereotyping is an evolutionarily societal characteristic, that involves a complex process of the brain that has developed throughout human history. People in today’s society benefit off of this social tactic without even knowing. There are two sides to stereotyping, negative
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Whenever social interaction takes place, the brain accesses the anterior temporal lobe, and this part of the brain is where stereotyping takes place. The human brain excels at noticing, interpreting, and predicting patterns, especially in human behavior. Based on previous patterns and experiences, the brain tries to save energy and time. It attempts to predict characteristics of a person or object according to its corresponding group or category. “A fork, for example, the brain of an adult knows what material it is made of, the purpose of the fork, the texture of the fork, all without touching it” (Dominguez). This demonstrates the process that creates stereotyping. The brain predicts all the traits of the fork based on past experiences as a shortcut and it evaluates the safety of the object. Stereotyping is an unintentional result of the function of the brain. Wray Herbert’s experiment demonstrates just how much influence the part of the brain that stereotypes has. He gives subjects a scenario “Say there’s a room with 1000 people in it, and we know that 995 are lawyers and the other five are engineers,” he then goes on to give characteristics of a person to the subjects, “Jack is 45-years-old and has four children. He …show more content…
As talked about previously, the brain essentially evaluates each and every situation for safety. Stereotyping an individual can help to keep a person safe. A man walking down a street with a tank top and numerous gang affiliated tattoos might not be the safest person to be confronting. This is where stereotyping could be positive. The brain connects and predicts that, based off of previous experiences or knowledge of gangs, the man might not be a safe individual to confront. All of this is assumed before anything is known about the man, and is done subconsciously to create a feeling of discomfort when contemplating confronting the man in question. Another example of stereotyping having a positive effect would be being saved from a harmful relationship. A person, who had an abusive father, might avoid people who exhibit the common behaviors of his father. The person stereotypes people based on the traits of his father. Stereotyping is a mechanism that shortcuts and predicts situations about people that could lead for the better. An unconventional way stereotypes can have a positive effect is when people to play into them. Such as, the stereotype that African Americans are excellent at basketball. This stereotype can lead to some African American children receiving extra coaching and assistance because they have a chance to one day become a great basketball player.
Whenever social interaction takes place, the brain accesses the anterior temporal lobe, and this part of the brain is where stereotyping takes place. The human brain excels at noticing, interpreting, and predicting patterns, especially in human behavior. Based on previous patterns and experiences, the brain tries to save energy and time. It attempts to predict characteristics of a person or object according to its corresponding group or category. “A fork, for example, the brain of an adult knows what material it is made of, the purpose of the fork, the texture of the fork, all without touching it” (Dominguez). This demonstrates the process that creates stereotyping. The brain predicts all the traits of the fork based on past experiences as a shortcut and it evaluates the safety of the object. Stereotyping is an unintentional result of the function of the brain. Wray Herbert’s experiment demonstrates just how much influence the part of the brain that stereotypes has. He gives subjects a scenario “Say there’s a room with 1000 people in it, and we know that 995 are lawyers and the other five are engineers,” he then goes on to give characteristics of a person to the subjects, “Jack is 45-years-old and has four children. He …show more content…
As talked about previously, the brain essentially evaluates each and every situation for safety. Stereotyping an individual can help to keep a person safe. A man walking down a street with a tank top and numerous gang affiliated tattoos might not be the safest person to be confronting. This is where stereotyping could be positive. The brain connects and predicts that, based off of previous experiences or knowledge of gangs, the man might not be a safe individual to confront. All of this is assumed before anything is known about the man, and is done subconsciously to create a feeling of discomfort when contemplating confronting the man in question. Another example of stereotyping having a positive effect would be being saved from a harmful relationship. A person, who had an abusive father, might avoid people who exhibit the common behaviors of his father. The person stereotypes people based on the traits of his father. Stereotyping is a mechanism that shortcuts and predicts situations about people that could lead for the better. An unconventional way stereotypes can have a positive effect is when people to play into them. Such as, the stereotype that African Americans are excellent at basketball. This stereotype can lead to some African American children receiving extra coaching and assistance because they have a chance to one day become a great basketball player.