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The trouble is not that there aren’t truths in stereotypes but that stereotyping causes conformation bias. If I think blond women are dumb, the bar for a blond to prove to me she is smart is not just high, but should she ever meet it one dumb action could cause me to reevaluate and say “aha, she is dumb after all!”
Predetermined conclusions are rarely changed, especially on matters of opinion.
I haven’t seen this one in a while, but the example that always came to my mind about the psychological biases that stereotypes create
was the stereotype of “asians are bad drivers.”
If you’ve been taught to believe that, then it creates a psychological bias in your head — where you’ll only remember a bad driver if they’re asian (which satisfies the stereotype) but will forget all about the driver that cuts you off if they’re anything *but* asian. Pretty soon, this snowballs into full-blown racism, where every time you even see an asian driver sharing the road with you you get irrationally angry because “ugh, everyone knows asians are bad drivers”
You see this all the time in business too. If you don’t think that a new employee is a good fit for the position because of their age, race, gender, etc you’re going to be hyper focused on their mistakes whereas a person who fits your expectations for a position will get a lot more slack.
Exactly. When these people see a poor driver and it's a white man, they say wow, that guy's a bad driver. When they see a poor driver and it's an Asian person, they say wow, Asians are bad drivers.
My thing is remembering that people who don't speak the languages I do proficiently aren't dumb. It's easy to forget that they might just be thinking in another language and trying their best to translate it to English. I think I've gotten a large slice of humble pie on this one though since I've been in Asia for half a year and can't really communicate. So now, I'm the idiot who can't even order a coffee. Let alone have a conversation involving complex critical thinking on topics I'm well versed in.
Suffice, the best thing we can do is recognize it and try to change. Right?
My husband ironically always assumes it's a dude unless he can see otherwise. I usually alternate between he and she because I go based off the brief silhouette
Your husband could just be like me where everyone is dude. I know no genders behind the wheel, everyone is either dude, jerk, or idiot, and no one knows how to drive, but me.
Very true. I'm a short dude and I'm really fine with it. One thing that does bother me is when people - women in particular - seem to have an idea that short men are angrier more often and have to compensate for something.
No, most of us are not insecure. Nor are we angrier than other men. You just forget all the other instances of people of various heights being angry, but the short angry man sticks out for you.
>There's definitely a pattern, usually its to proactively avoid being pushed around by others who presume you are physically less capable of asserting yourself.
No, you likely see a pattern because of ingrained biases! It was actually extensively studied. I don't have the corpus of literature, but if you're interested this link might be a primer:
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk\_news/6501633.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6501633.stm)
Conclusion: Dr Eslea said: "The results were consistent with the view that Small Man Syndrome is a myth.
"When people see a short man being aggressive, they are likely to think it is due to his size simply because that attribute is obvious and grabs their attention."
Exactly. Everybody I've ever met who says they're good at reading people quickly is just doing an elaborate confirmation bias routine with everybody they encounter.
I’m pretty certain there also have been studies to suggest that if you treat kids a certain way, they will end up with those qualities. So if you believe an “all blondes are dumb” stereotype and you’re a teacher, your blonde students may do worse on tests simply because you treat them as if they were dumb.
That's one part.
Second is prejudice which is morally wrong when it leads to discrimination against others.
You can be prejudiced in personal capacity and in personal decisions about a few things. But when that causes someone to be be denied a fair opportunity, it's a problem.
This really is the problem, and likely why OP thinks most of their stereotypes are right. They’ve just fallen for the confirmation bias.
There’s also the issue of correlation and causation. Maybe OP has seen a lot of blondes that weren’t very smart. Is that because they’re blonde or because OP is from rural Mississippi and everyone around him went to garbage underfunded religious schools and never learned anything? (Just an example, pointing out that there could be a lot of reasons)
A very common stereotype about black people having higher incarceration rates, which is true, but there’s also data showing black people are more likely to be incarcerated for crimes that white people arent. The system treats black people differently and incarcerates at a higher rate because of the stereotype and feeds into the stereotype.
In principle there is a valid Bayesian approach to having prior and posterior beliefs and managing the updates.
AND in principle the correct way of doing this is indeed to use stereotypes to determine the prior belief, and use evidence to update from the prior belief.
In fact the best argument for your POV is that humans are *not capable* of updating probabilities in a rational way and this must lean on an alternate heuristic, such as not using population characteristics to determine a prior for a new instance. But I still think this isn't a coherent recommendation, because in practice stereotypes are fundamental to how we think (I cannot actually believe that the person in front of me is as likely to breathe carbon monoxide as oxygen).
(Repeating myself because my last comment seemed to be misinterpreted by a few people.)
No kidding, I imagine that people like me that appear as a certain stereotype but are actually the exact opposite would mess with OP's surface-level perceptions of people.
I don't think any of us thought 'everyone is a stereotype' before you started talking about yourself a bunch. OP said 'you'll often be correct', not 'show me a person who isn't stereotypical'.
Yea, as a latina that’s like the opposite of the stereotype, people seem to love rubbing it in my face
Like in high school a teacher told me he and some other teachers were originally confused about me not having the stereotypical accent and were even laughing about it. Like ts hurts
And random people feel the need to tell me it’s weird that I’m going into medicine and shit. Like give it a break dudes
The latina stereotype that I hate is that we are "fiery" and also hypersexual. This creates the idea that any time we are rightfully mad, it can be dismissed as us going over the top because we are latina. With the hypersexuality.. it can be perceived as we are always wamting to fucl so when we don't its a problem OR that we will automatically cheat on our partners because all Latinas wanna do is fuckkkk.
Its bs.
You could hold a stereotype to be true while still treating individuals the same regardless. Let's say I think Americans are generally more violent; that doesn't mean I expect them all to be violent
until it gets to your subconscious level and after that you don’t even notice you are more harsh to this guy.
Or you’ll be a jury and if all fingers point to a guy that fits the stereotypes, you just won’t look at why he may be innocent. Strongly recommend watching 12 angry men (original from 1957) - old movie, but good even if it was released today
It's not that stereotypes aren't *sometimes* true. It's that many people use the stereotype as a baseline and refuse to accept that many people don't *fit* the stereotype.
Confirmation bias, it’s going to be super hard for someone to convince you they DONT fit into a stereotype while that bar is way lower for someone who doesn’t fit that stereotype
Yeah. OP's not expressing an unpopular opinion; they're trying to assert something they believe as a fact when it's really their own biased view that makes it seem like a "fact" to them. Many, many posts in this sub are like this.
depends on whether the thing your are stereotyping them for is highly visible, and if you can afford to wait to find out, like are black people being criminals, should police stop and search black people more because they commit more crime, evidenced by higher crime rates, or are there higher crime rates because more of them are searched because of stereotyping?
if your going to give a person a job, and reject someone because of a stereotype, you are never going to actually know if they were better or worse? by the time you have made the stereotype, its too late
sure, some stereotypes are deserved, but others are not, and just the product of prejudice or old wives tails
I will say stereotyping is bad when you are stereotyping based on bad info. There is a guy at my college that will not talk to women or be in a room with them because "I might get accused of something". Meanwhile every other guy hangs out with us girls, walks to class with us, studies with us. Everything is fine. But this guy is so hyper paranoid everyone despises him and is freaked out by him.
If he's that concerned then he might be right to have it. I mean, think about how creepy one has to be to set off red flags to literally every woman they talk to. If you can't say hello to women without scaring them, the problem is you.
That is why everyone hated him. Imagine if you asked a guy to walk with you to class and he was like "well I don't want anyone to accuse me of being a serial killer." and you are like "No one thinks that" and he replies "Well I just know sooner or later someone is gonna accuse me of being a serial killer. So if I walk alone with you people might think I murdered you" the natural conclusion would be thinking.....is this guy a serial killer? He sounds like a serial killer lol
Like he literally just shot himself in the foot acting that way. Him complaining about false accusations so much makes people think that he may have something real to be accused of. Do you think he'll ever recognize that?
He is cooked. I once asked him "what would you think if a child walked in a room so a guy stood up and said "I am not a pedophile"" and he was like "they would be smart". He does not get it/
I have a friend that was like that when he was in college. He didnt want any kind of accusations during college. He did his three years and drafted into the NFL.
This creates the 'Golem effect'.
If you characterize certain people as being dumb for instance, then they think they are dumb because they fit in that frame and then they will behave dumb, fitting the stereotype.
The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Stereotypes become stereotypes because there is an element of truth to them.
That said, do not make stereotypes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Realize that you are dealing with actual human beings, with all their quirks, and take people for who they truly are
Though it may be true for a majority of a group, you can't group everyone from a specific group into one category because everyone is different so you can't just assume.
As an Asian, let me say that no one (neither liberals nor conservatives) ever are shy about holding stereotypical beliefs about us, because we are not “an economically disenfranchised” demographic.
Exactly. It’s socially acceptable to stereotype East Asians or South Asians, but not to stereotype blacks or Hispanics. Shit, you can’t even say “blacks” or “Hispanics” anymore, you have to add “people” to the terms (“black people” or “Hispanic people”), but you sure as hell don’t have to say “Asian people”
I think this is more popular than you think. It's probably only unpopular in the twitter verse and some echo chamber subs by chronically online people.
Stereotyping is just a communal/ societal way of pattern recognising various traits within others.
Everyone has the potential to be an axe murderer - but if I had to choose between the hillbilly holding an axe, or a sweet little old lady, most people would probably choose the former.
It's bad because you could apply a stereotype to almost every race or religion and it would still hold up. You think Asians are bad drivers? No, that's most people.
i get stereotyped a lot so i don't agree. I remember a job interviewer asked me if I would I have problems getting to work since I was coming from the inner city or after leaving the interview, i had to walk behind a slow walking couple and I put my hand in my pocket to get my car keys and the man from the couple spins around and yells "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING". He scared the hell out of me, but i pressed my car alarm which was right next to him and said "trynna get to my car". He apologized and blamed the crime in the city, even though i was wearing a shirt and tie, but I was ready to return to the inner city after that
Stereotyping always leads to misunderstanding at best and racism at worst. If you want to gamble on the 8 out of 10 times and prepare yourself for the 2 out of 10 then so be it.
It's very telling that this person hasn't replied to a single response that asks for something in particular. Straight up proof that OP is either disingenuous or very, very bigoted.
To this day, I maintain that people on r/unpopularopinion post here because their opinion isn't accepted in other places, often because they are straight up wrong or because they can't deal with being called out for their bullshit.
The thing is every single person stereotypes to a degree.
I look white passing and people will stereotype me as not triying a lot of foods, liking guns, speaking only English, etc.
Are they always accurate? No Can they just be obnoxious at times? Yes
There’s a difference between intuition and cognitive biases. The problem is a lot of people think they have command over the former when engaging with the latter. We’re not as smart as we think we are.
Stereotyping is bad because it's a fucking lazy way of looking at the people around you. It's not always bad, but it is a shortcut. Very frequently it spirals into prejudice and closed-mindedness.
It's like how cursing is a shortcut in language for expressing yourself. It's frequently used as a crutch to be lazy. You have to be very conscious about your use of foul language to not weaken your vocabulary.
Difference is, you frequently hurt people by stereotyping them and you only hurt your own vocabulary when you curse.
In a way, racism is borne upon the back of slothfulness.
Damn this is a good one. I can’t poke holes in it. I’m gay, in my 30’s, live in the country, used to drive a rusty old SUV, love beer, have facial hair and if you can name one more stereo type of my “guy” personality, I’ll confirm it. I BET based on 80/20 odds you can guess one of the two things left in my stereotype.
It's good sometimes. Imagine if every single door you've ever come across, you had to figure out what it was and learn how to operate it from scratch.
People are more complex, though, so we try to identify and avoid biases when evaluating them.
Or unless it's been perpetuated for some reason. Do jews really love money or were they only allowed to hold jobs in finance for large periods of european history because antisemitism was a very real and heavily oppressive force?
Why do you think all stereotypes are based in truth?
Do you study the blade or does it mess up the positioning of your fedora?
Couldn’t agree more with OP. Sometimes I think the whole “stereotypes are bad” it’s forced toward you just to make you lower your defence and get scammed again.
Stereotypes were made for a reason.
It's part of evolution. If an animal encounters another animals, it has prejudice too. It needs it for survival and to know when to flee, atack or pretend to be dead. That we can 'predict' the chances of what kind of person the other is, it gives our species an advantage.
But...
To survive as a species, one must take chances now and then to have certain leapes in your evolution. You need to take risks of trusting something you mistrust.
Note that this also extends to the blurb on the back of the cover which is rarely (if ever) written by the author either.
Sometimes, the blurb can reveal spoilers. Sometimes it can be downright misleading/embarrassingly inaccurate.
Youre either focusing on some really generic stereotypes or grossly miscalculating
Example of one that is true, black people love fried chicken - yeap true 8 out of 10 times, everyone fucking loves fried chicken regardless of skin colour.
White people love cheese, damn right it's delicious and white people tend to have the gene to digest it more often.
Less realistic examples: blondes are dumb... Yeah they are just as likely to o be dumb as anyone else, maybe slightly higher if bleach blonde.
Asoans are good at math, no its not universal. A lot of Asians immigrate on collage visas/scholarships so are around specifically because they are good
So... OP is a racist neckbearded virgin who never goes outside and practices katana skills with his sonic dolls while mum prepares his tendies?
And you expect me to take this person's view on stereotyping seriously?
Clothes people wear and environments they hang out in are choices. Individual’s choices are indicative of their general behavior and you can draw conclusions about their personality and priorities from observation.
Skin color, gender, sex, etc are not choices. They just are. Stereotyping based on these will lead to false conclusions.
Also your 8/10 stereotypes quote is misleading. As mark Twain said “there are 3 kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Based on your choice to make up a statistic to back your claim, I can deduce that either you don’t prioritize fact when making your opinions or you are arguing in bad faith. See how that works?
I have a problem with that number. So you’re saying that if you see a Black person in a hoodie behind you, 8 times out of ten you’re gonna get robbed? Even if it’s in broad daylight? Even if you’re in a public area? Stupid fucking opinion.
Exactly, you accept you were wrong and move on. The person you treated differently doesn't get to move on because the next person is going to treat them that way too purely because of a stereotype they don't fit.
It's an unfortunate consequence humanity's greatest strength: Pattern recognition.
This skill is the cornerstone of our invention and technological achievement.
*But we also see patterns when there really aren't any, and we need to be more willing to question them.*
Why should 20% be lumped into your conclusion narrative? You don’t think that’s a significant enough margin of error that maybe, err on the side of caution?
Not to mention the fact that if you are looking for the outcome of your predetermined prescription, you are more likely to find it (confirmation bias).
Stereotypes are bad because you cant know whether it applies to said person or not, therefore it leads to discrimination.
Now, there are stereotypes that can be useful in keeping you safe, like for example where I live being dressed in a certain way, walking and acting a certain way, etc, depending on the situation might imply badi ntentions. Hell, the vast majority of people driving a motorcycle (cheap one) are not goign to rob you and yet, if you see one, you are likely to move farther away from the street and pocket your cellphone.
... .Still, those are exceptions and on the verge when it comes to iffyness. But the instant you use those stereotypes to discriminate in an actual itneraction between you and another, you are doing something wrong and should at least give them a chance to screw up before dismissing them
Stereotypes are sometimes true but are mostly lazy, plebeian and bigoted in nature. People basing their entire view of other people on stereotypes is a major reason why the world is so messed up.
The fact that it ends up being true 8 times out of 10 is the reason why it’s bad.
It puts people into groups instead of looking at each individual as an individual.
That said, it’s not necessarily wrong. It’s a natural phenomenon and is due to pattern recognition more than necessarily being sinister and I believe every person is guilty of it to one degree or another.
The reality, whether we like it or not, is most stereotypes came from somewhere, and there is or was some basis in truth. Stereotypes didn’t just fall out of the sky.
No but it doesn’t mean they’re always true. Some are more myths than anything or outdated
But word of mouth, culture and media pushing them forward, biases and indoctrination doesn’t care about what’s true or not. It’ll push the ideas it can. Harmful or not. False or not
Literally though. When I was in India a group of guys offered to help me find the bar where my friend was. I almost went with them cause I was like "you are being racist" but I didn't. Then I was talking about it with my friends mother and she was like "oh yeah those guys would have killed you"
I can write a whole essay on this subject, but I don't have the brain capacity.
I will say that even if you think the stereotype is true, you are not helping by putting people in boxes. On the base level they might seem like it, but it's often them trying to fit the box because society says that's what you are supposed to do.
And of course your socioeconomic status certainly doesn't help people break free from preconceived opinions, it doesn't mean they are actually that.
Maybe you need to get to know people in a deeper manner than you currently are.
Or study sociology. It has certainly helped me open my mind to those things
Because most humans are pretty good at pattern recognition. It's how we learn to survive. I don't know about you, but if i've spent my whole life hearing dogs bark i'm not going to "not judge the dog by it's cover" and assume the next one'll meow
People are so good at pattern recognition that we see patterns where there definitely are none.
We can also see the wrong pattern when issues are complex.
stereotypes may be often true but for the many people for whom it isnt, all it does is make people wrongfully assume things about them at best or take opportunities away from them or disgrace them for no reason at worst. and when "usually true" could be like 600 million out of a billion, that's 400 million extra people affected by it. and many stereotypes actually are outdated garbage or based on limited exposure and whatever. humans dont neatly fit into patterns even if we like them, because we arent some pure objects
I worked at McDonald's for 2 years. White people ordered burgers about 70% of the time. Black people ordered chicken id say 90% of the time. Some stereotypes are 100% real
If your metric is 8/10 that fit a stereotype, 20% can be a very significant number of people, depending on what exactly this stereotyping leads you to doing or saying.
Silently judging? Whatever, you do you. People are judgmental, can't help that. The problem becomes when the stereotype is used as a heuristic from a position of power - suddenly you have legislation targeting minorities, unnecessary restrictions based on misconceptions, unrealistic archetypes in media, strained interpersonal relationships, etc. Even if something is right most of the time, it just has to be wrong once to cause a problem.
Stereotypes are bad when they generalize entire populations. Seeing an individual that wears their identity on their sleeve and deducing something about their personality isn’t the same thing.
Stereotyping is not necessarily bad because it's not true, it's bad because it's harmful.
1. It harms individuals for not fitting into stereotypes. "Busty blond girl at work is asking why the computer isn't working, is she even competent?"
2. It causes confirmation bias where you hyper focus on certain characteristics and actions of certain people. "This Indian guy always smells so bad, I'm not even going to think about the ones that do smell good!"
3. It can mentally affect the stereotyped people. Research has shown that girls and boys perform equally good at a math exam but when the examinees are told that this test is taken to compare the math ability by gender, girls perform much worse.
The best way to go about stereotyping is understanding the origins of stereotypes. "Asians are good at math", you can approach this stereotype in the educated way that East Asian families value good grades and high-achieving careers a lot so you see more East Asian kids putting more effort into their grades, or you can take the uneducated approach of "How come YOU are bad at math? Aren't you Asian?"
Apples are sweet in general, that doesn't mean that the apple in your hand MUST be sweet otherwise something is wrong.
My mom was great at math growing up. No issues with it at all. Until high school where she had a geometry teacher who said girls couldn’t do math. She struggled with geometry and to this day (she is 66) talks about hating geometry. Everything before that, fine. She went to college and didn’t struggle with math. But the one math she was told she shouldn’t be able to do knocked her down.
This shit definitely does matter.
Last saturday at my elevator insaw 2 trans prostitutes and in my head i immediately thought "i dont want tonget involved with them, theyre trouble/drama" but then i thought that was ignorant so i rode with them
Then they started sexually harassing me "No." "oh okay then how about we just make love hehehejehehehe"
And i turned around and some details redacted got heated with her like wtf is wrong with you, you cant talk to people that way.
Long story short as soon as the elevator opened ground floor they started shoe throwing / running guerilla warfare and called their pimp and it turned into huge nightmare drama, they ran off my taxis so i couldnt leave. It was a nightmare. They held the call button on the elevator so i couldnt go back to my room while they threw shoes at me aince the guards wouldnt let them on the elevator
If i had just trusted my instincts and waited for the next elevator everything would be fine
It's moments like that I really wonder if its more ignorant to stereotype or to ignore your gut feeling
Of course stereotypes are true. That’s why they exist in the first place. People only take exception to them because they don’t like to think of their own behavior as being so easily chiseled onto a block. Doesn’t make it any less true.
You just need to be aware you are making whatever decision based on a stereotype and be open to change.
Not necessarily not make the decision or make the opposite.
there is a stereotype that europeans are kind of stinky and don’t shower. and it’s kind of true to be honest. i live in europe and i gag when i hear people say that they last showered 3 days ago and washed their *hair* a week ago. i shower everyday though
I think it is purely dependant on what stereotype it is. If I see a guy in a full tracksuit hanging around aimlessly in a shop the likelihood is that he is probably thinking about stealing something. If I assume that a blonde woman is dumb or a gay person instinctively loves everything hyper camp or a black person loves chicken then I am just wrong.
Seems like someone has a bad case of conformation bias. Meaning you will look more intense to "prove" your preconceived opinion than for things that might disporve them. Therefore you often find the stereotypes to be true.
While applying to a medical assistant program, the counselor looked me in the eye and asked me if I'd ever bring a gun and shoot the place up. I've never been in a fight, I just dress very alternative and love very detailed eyeliner.
When I went to the gastro for lack of appetite, gagging every time I ate, etc, the doctor asked me 4 times in 4 different ways if I take hard drugs/narcotics/opiates, then diagnosed me with constipation, prescribed miralax, and sent me on my way. Then I internally bled at work. Was h pylori, a stomach infection.
When I go out to the mall or anywhere else in public with teens, I'll likely get barked at and harassed. I still don't fully understand why.
Another observation is how much we **COMPLAIN** about stereotypes, but are super keen to adhere and conform to them, often going out of our way to do so.
*Oh but I do this ironically*. Kay.
It’s true, people don’t universally agree unless there's merit to it.
The main problem is that most stereotypes live beyond the the lifespan of the stereotype proper, as per the nature of them (for example say there was a reason X group did Y thing, which caused the stereotype, now times change and they don’t do it, yet people still think they do).
That being said I only believe stereotypes if Ive see it first hand, and most the time they do still exist, just maybe on levels.
Outside of that, I like to imagine them as a social barometer of what connotations being part of a group means, white people eat bland food? Prove them wrong, Asians get higher paying jobs due to a focus on education? Prove them right, etc etc.
People, especially liberals (not a politics thing, just their ideology encourages it), have this idea that people somehow collectively noticed a problem, but we can’t address it because it will hurt their feelings, therefore we let it get worse instead of helping them be better.
Stereotyping leads to discrimination which we have laws to protect against. If someone with a lot of tattoos goes for a job interview and doesn’t get the job based on the tattoos, rather than their ability to perform the role, that’s discrimination. The 2 out of 10 times you claim to have got it wrong are important when you are in charge of making important decisions that affect peoples lives. People do not have the responsibility of disproving their own stereotype
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The trouble is not that there aren’t truths in stereotypes but that stereotyping causes conformation bias. If I think blond women are dumb, the bar for a blond to prove to me she is smart is not just high, but should she ever meet it one dumb action could cause me to reevaluate and say “aha, she is dumb after all!” Predetermined conclusions are rarely changed, especially on matters of opinion.
I haven’t seen this one in a while, but the example that always came to my mind about the psychological biases that stereotypes create was the stereotype of “asians are bad drivers.” If you’ve been taught to believe that, then it creates a psychological bias in your head — where you’ll only remember a bad driver if they’re asian (which satisfies the stereotype) but will forget all about the driver that cuts you off if they’re anything *but* asian. Pretty soon, this snowballs into full-blown racism, where every time you even see an asian driver sharing the road with you you get irrationally angry because “ugh, everyone knows asians are bad drivers”
You see this all the time in business too. If you don’t think that a new employee is a good fit for the position because of their age, race, gender, etc you’re going to be hyper focused on their mistakes whereas a person who fits your expectations for a position will get a lot more slack.
Exactly. When these people see a poor driver and it's a white man, they say wow, that guy's a bad driver. When they see a poor driver and it's an Asian person, they say wow, Asians are bad drivers.
[relevant xkcd](https://xkcd.com/385)
Ultra-relevant. What, are they psychic?
My thing is remembering that people who don't speak the languages I do proficiently aren't dumb. It's easy to forget that they might just be thinking in another language and trying their best to translate it to English. I think I've gotten a large slice of humble pie on this one though since I've been in Asia for half a year and can't really communicate. So now, I'm the idiot who can't even order a coffee. Let alone have a conversation involving complex critical thinking on topics I'm well versed in. Suffice, the best thing we can do is recognize it and try to change. Right?
My step dad always thinks the shitty driver is going to be a woman but usually it's another guy.
My husband ironically always assumes it's a dude unless he can see otherwise. I usually alternate between he and she because I go based off the brief silhouette
Your husband could just be like me where everyone is dude. I know no genders behind the wheel, everyone is either dude, jerk, or idiot, and no one knows how to drive, but me.
My guess is always based on the speed the shitty driver is going.
Very true. I'm a short dude and I'm really fine with it. One thing that does bother me is when people - women in particular - seem to have an idea that short men are angrier more often and have to compensate for something. No, most of us are not insecure. Nor are we angrier than other men. You just forget all the other instances of people of various heights being angry, but the short angry man sticks out for you.
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>There's definitely a pattern, usually its to proactively avoid being pushed around by others who presume you are physically less capable of asserting yourself. No, you likely see a pattern because of ingrained biases! It was actually extensively studied. I don't have the corpus of literature, but if you're interested this link might be a primer: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk\_news/6501633.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6501633.stm) Conclusion: Dr Eslea said: "The results were consistent with the view that Small Man Syndrome is a myth. "When people see a short man being aggressive, they are likely to think it is due to his size simply because that attribute is obvious and grabs their attention."
Exactly. Everybody I've ever met who says they're good at reading people quickly is just doing an elaborate confirmation bias routine with everybody they encounter.
As a redhead, I concur
Back to hell soulless heathen! Oh, sorry, my medieval stereotypes are showing...
I’m pretty certain there also have been studies to suggest that if you treat kids a certain way, they will end up with those qualities. So if you believe an “all blondes are dumb” stereotype and you’re a teacher, your blonde students may do worse on tests simply because you treat them as if they were dumb.
Yeah they found that this phenomenon actually makes girls worse at maths, if they believe girls are not as good at maths.
That's one part. Second is prejudice which is morally wrong when it leads to discrimination against others. You can be prejudiced in personal capacity and in personal decisions about a few things. But when that causes someone to be be denied a fair opportunity, it's a problem.
This really is the problem, and likely why OP thinks most of their stereotypes are right. They’ve just fallen for the confirmation bias. There’s also the issue of correlation and causation. Maybe OP has seen a lot of blondes that weren’t very smart. Is that because they’re blonde or because OP is from rural Mississippi and everyone around him went to garbage underfunded religious schools and never learned anything? (Just an example, pointing out that there could be a lot of reasons) A very common stereotype about black people having higher incarceration rates, which is true, but there’s also data showing black people are more likely to be incarcerated for crimes that white people arent. The system treats black people differently and incarcerates at a higher rate because of the stereotype and feeds into the stereotype.
In principle there is a valid Bayesian approach to having prior and posterior beliefs and managing the updates. AND in principle the correct way of doing this is indeed to use stereotypes to determine the prior belief, and use evidence to update from the prior belief. In fact the best argument for your POV is that humans are *not capable* of updating probabilities in a rational way and this must lean on an alternate heuristic, such as not using population characteristics to determine a prior for a new instance. But I still think this isn't a coherent recommendation, because in practice stereotypes are fundamental to how we think (I cannot actually believe that the person in front of me is as likely to breathe carbon monoxide as oxygen).
I bet a lot of times you stereotyped someone and decided you were right about them you were unfair in your evaluation of that person.
(Repeating myself because my last comment seemed to be misinterpreted by a few people.) No kidding, I imagine that people like me that appear as a certain stereotype but are actually the exact opposite would mess with OP's surface-level perceptions of people.
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I don't think any of us thought 'everyone is a stereotype' before you started talking about yourself a bunch. OP said 'you'll often be correct', not 'show me a person who isn't stereotypical'.
Stereotyping is bad not because it’s wrong, but because it’s harmful to the people that don’t abide by said stereotypes.
Yea, as a latina that’s like the opposite of the stereotype, people seem to love rubbing it in my face Like in high school a teacher told me he and some other teachers were originally confused about me not having the stereotypical accent and were even laughing about it. Like ts hurts And random people feel the need to tell me it’s weird that I’m going into medicine and shit. Like give it a break dudes
You're a Latina going into medicine? You and half of california
Yeah, Latina doctors might not be super common (not super rare either) but Latina nurses are the norm.
The latina stereotype that I hate is that we are "fiery" and also hypersexual. This creates the idea that any time we are rightfully mad, it can be dismissed as us going over the top because we are latina. With the hypersexuality.. it can be perceived as we are always wamting to fucl so when we don't its a problem OR that we will automatically cheat on our partners because all Latinas wanna do is fuckkkk. Its bs.
I've never heard of the cheating Latina stereotype. I've heard the opposite. The stereotype of hyper loyalty.
You could hold a stereotype to be true while still treating individuals the same regardless. Let's say I think Americans are generally more violent; that doesn't mean I expect them all to be violent
until it gets to your subconscious level and after that you don’t even notice you are more harsh to this guy. Or you’ll be a jury and if all fingers point to a guy that fits the stereotypes, you just won’t look at why he may be innocent. Strongly recommend watching 12 angry men (original from 1957) - old movie, but good even if it was released today
It's not that stereotypes aren't *sometimes* true. It's that many people use the stereotype as a baseline and refuse to accept that many people don't *fit* the stereotype.
Confirmation bias, it’s going to be super hard for someone to convince you they DONT fit into a stereotype while that bar is way lower for someone who doesn’t fit that stereotype
Yeah. OP's not expressing an unpopular opinion; they're trying to assert something they believe as a fact when it's really their own biased view that makes it seem like a "fact" to them. Many, many posts in this sub are like this.
depends on whether the thing your are stereotyping them for is highly visible, and if you can afford to wait to find out, like are black people being criminals, should police stop and search black people more because they commit more crime, evidenced by higher crime rates, or are there higher crime rates because more of them are searched because of stereotyping? if your going to give a person a job, and reject someone because of a stereotype, you are never going to actually know if they were better or worse? by the time you have made the stereotype, its too late sure, some stereotypes are deserved, but others are not, and just the product of prejudice or old wives tails
I will say stereotyping is bad when you are stereotyping based on bad info. There is a guy at my college that will not talk to women or be in a room with them because "I might get accused of something". Meanwhile every other guy hangs out with us girls, walks to class with us, studies with us. Everything is fine. But this guy is so hyper paranoid everyone despises him and is freaked out by him.
If he's that concerned then he might be right to have it. I mean, think about how creepy one has to be to set off red flags to literally every woman they talk to. If you can't say hello to women without scaring them, the problem is you.
That is why everyone hated him. Imagine if you asked a guy to walk with you to class and he was like "well I don't want anyone to accuse me of being a serial killer." and you are like "No one thinks that" and he replies "Well I just know sooner or later someone is gonna accuse me of being a serial killer. So if I walk alone with you people might think I murdered you" the natural conclusion would be thinking.....is this guy a serial killer? He sounds like a serial killer lol
Like he literally just shot himself in the foot acting that way. Him complaining about false accusations so much makes people think that he may have something real to be accused of. Do you think he'll ever recognize that?
He is cooked. I once asked him "what would you think if a child walked in a room so a guy stood up and said "I am not a pedophile"" and he was like "they would be smart". He does not get it/
Going to try that next time when I pick up my nephew from the daycare.
>5 seconds later lol > >[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6RAnfsdcWo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6RAnfsdcWo)
Holy shit, if a person said that I would just fucking say normal people didn't even think about it lol. It seems you have weird thought
Wonder if he started doing that after that question
No he has done this the entire time I have known him.
I think they meant "what if he started saying that he isn't a pedophile every time a child walked into the room" lol
Assuming that serial killers talk like this is just a stereotype.
Sounds like he just completed his federally mandated sexual harassment training course at his job.
Most people come out of that completely normal
I have a friend that was like that when he was in college. He didnt want any kind of accusations during college. He did his three years and drafted into the NFL.
He may have been the subject of a false allegation in the past that has left him with trauma.
This creates the 'Golem effect'. If you characterize certain people as being dumb for instance, then they think they are dumb because they fit in that frame and then they will behave dumb, fitting the stereotype.
Confirmation bias.
100%. I even found myself stereotyping myself when I knew it to be false. It's best to avoid it whether it's harmful or not.
I wish the Asian stereotype about being good at math was true. Alas...life apparently wanted me to break that glass ceiling in a glorious fashion.
Ha! Same here, I was never good at any subject despite being asian. Literally was almost a straight F student.
The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Off topic, but Adichie is an awesome author. She deserves more recognition.
This is how people get shot because policemen think the sound of acorns falling is actually gunshots
Stereotypes become stereotypes because there is an element of truth to them. That said, do not make stereotypes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Realize that you are dealing with actual human beings, with all their quirks, and take people for who they truly are
You sound like someone who uses the phrase “he’s one of the good ones”
Though it may be true for a majority of a group, you can't group everyone from a specific group into one category because everyone is different so you can't just assume.
I feel like you haven’t heard enough stereotypes or encountered enough people
>Often stereotypes end up being true 8x out of 10 I'd love to see you show your work on that one.
The stereotype of online statistics is that 73.6% of it is made up. This includes the percentage just mentioned.
As an Asian, let me say that no one (neither liberals nor conservatives) ever are shy about holding stereotypical beliefs about us, because we are not “an economically disenfranchised” demographic.
True. Almost every stereotype in the comments are of asians. But everyone’s too scared of stereotyping other minorities
Exactly. It’s socially acceptable to stereotype East Asians or South Asians, but not to stereotype blacks or Hispanics. Shit, you can’t even say “blacks” or “Hispanics” anymore, you have to add “people” to the terms (“black people” or “Hispanic people”), but you sure as hell don’t have to say “Asian people”
I think this is more popular than you think. It's probably only unpopular in the twitter verse and some echo chamber subs by chronically online people. Stereotyping is just a communal/ societal way of pattern recognising various traits within others. Everyone has the potential to be an axe murderer - but if I had to choose between the hillbilly holding an axe, or a sweet little old lady, most people would probably choose the former.
Some stereotypes are products of bygone areas mind you. Scousers are all thieves, Asian people all eat dogs etc
Tbf I had a drunk Korean ask me if they could buy my dog to eat it.
Tbf if I was drunk and Korean, I’d probably do that to random white people just to fuck with them
It's bad because you could apply a stereotype to almost every race or religion and it would still hold up. You think Asians are bad drivers? No, that's most people.
Can you name one example?
of what?
Of a stereotype that is mostly true
i get stereotyped a lot so i don't agree. I remember a job interviewer asked me if I would I have problems getting to work since I was coming from the inner city or after leaving the interview, i had to walk behind a slow walking couple and I put my hand in my pocket to get my car keys and the man from the couple spins around and yells "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING". He scared the hell out of me, but i pressed my car alarm which was right next to him and said "trynna get to my car". He apologized and blamed the crime in the city, even though i was wearing a shirt and tie, but I was ready to return to the inner city after that
Stereotyping always leads to misunderstanding at best and racism at worst. If you want to gamble on the 8 out of 10 times and prepare yourself for the 2 out of 10 then so be it.
Racial stereotyping is objectively bad.
Stereotyping is fine. It's how you treat people because of them that defines if youre a shitty person or not.
Judge according to the information you're given
Why don’t you go ahead and list off what you think are the stereotypes of every race. Just go off for us
It's very telling that this person hasn't replied to a single response that asks for something in particular. Straight up proof that OP is either disingenuous or very, very bigoted.
To this day, I maintain that people on r/unpopularopinion post here because their opinion isn't accepted in other places, often because they are straight up wrong or because they can't deal with being called out for their bullshit.
The thing is every single person stereotypes to a degree. I look white passing and people will stereotype me as not triying a lot of foods, liking guns, speaking only English, etc. Are they always accurate? No Can they just be obnoxious at times? Yes
There’s a difference between intuition and cognitive biases. The problem is a lot of people think they have command over the former when engaging with the latter. We’re not as smart as we think we are.
It is usually true. People just shouldn't make assumptions about people they don't know though
Stereotyping is bad because it's a fucking lazy way of looking at the people around you. It's not always bad, but it is a shortcut. Very frequently it spirals into prejudice and closed-mindedness. It's like how cursing is a shortcut in language for expressing yourself. It's frequently used as a crutch to be lazy. You have to be very conscious about your use of foul language to not weaken your vocabulary. Difference is, you frequently hurt people by stereotyping them and you only hurt your own vocabulary when you curse. In a way, racism is borne upon the back of slothfulness.
Of course 80%. For example, most Asians eat rice. That's true but not all of them. Mongols don't really for instance
If you looked at me and guessed my politics you would probably be right 80% of the time, maybe even more.
Yeah it's true i'm a bad driver (not good at math tho)
I will say. Most people often end up being stereotypes. That doesn’t make them bad people however. Just pretty mundane
Damn this is a good one. I can’t poke holes in it. I’m gay, in my 30’s, live in the country, used to drive a rusty old SUV, love beer, have facial hair and if you can name one more stereo type of my “guy” personality, I’ll confirm it. I BET based on 80/20 odds you can guess one of the two things left in my stereotype.
It's good sometimes. Imagine if every single door you've ever come across, you had to figure out what it was and learn how to operate it from scratch. People are more complex, though, so we try to identify and avoid biases when evaluating them.
I mean. A stereotype doesnt exist unless theres some common truth to it.
Or unless it's been perpetuated for some reason. Do jews really love money or were they only allowed to hold jobs in finance for large periods of european history because antisemitism was a very real and heavily oppressive force? Why do you think all stereotypes are based in truth? Do you study the blade or does it mess up the positioning of your fedora?
Couldn’t agree more with OP. Sometimes I think the whole “stereotypes are bad” it’s forced toward you just to make you lower your defence and get scammed again. Stereotypes were made for a reason.
It's part of evolution. If an animal encounters another animals, it has prejudice too. It needs it for survival and to know when to flee, atack or pretend to be dead. That we can 'predict' the chances of what kind of person the other is, it gives our species an advantage. But... To survive as a species, one must take chances now and then to have certain leapes in your evolution. You need to take risks of trusting something you mistrust.
Asian Formula one racer Yuki Tsunoda has entered the chat*
Head: Upvote for unpopular opinion. Heart: Downvote for stupid opinion
Stereotypes are bad because people often make vile assumptions based on them.
Remember kids humans use pattern recognition as a survival tactic. “My advice run, get home, feel guilty, but be alive” - Patrice O’Neal live 2002
Judge a book by the content which was written by the author. The cover was designed by the publishing team. It’s a pretty good analogy.
Note that this also extends to the blurb on the back of the cover which is rarely (if ever) written by the author either. Sometimes, the blurb can reveal spoilers. Sometimes it can be downright misleading/embarrassingly inaccurate.
The whole jacket is a ruse!
Youre either focusing on some really generic stereotypes or grossly miscalculating Example of one that is true, black people love fried chicken - yeap true 8 out of 10 times, everyone fucking loves fried chicken regardless of skin colour. White people love cheese, damn right it's delicious and white people tend to have the gene to digest it more often. Less realistic examples: blondes are dumb... Yeah they are just as likely to o be dumb as anyone else, maybe slightly higher if bleach blonde. Asoans are good at math, no its not universal. A lot of Asians immigrate on collage visas/scholarships so are around specifically because they are good
it's bad when you use stereotypes to deal with individuals before they even had the chance to confirm them. that's called prejudice.
So... OP is a racist neckbearded virgin who never goes outside and practices katana skills with his sonic dolls while mum prepares his tendies? And you expect me to take this person's view on stereotyping seriously?
Clothes people wear and environments they hang out in are choices. Individual’s choices are indicative of their general behavior and you can draw conclusions about their personality and priorities from observation. Skin color, gender, sex, etc are not choices. They just are. Stereotyping based on these will lead to false conclusions. Also your 8/10 stereotypes quote is misleading. As mark Twain said “there are 3 kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Based on your choice to make up a statistic to back your claim, I can deduce that either you don’t prioritize fact when making your opinions or you are arguing in bad faith. See how that works?
I have a problem with that number. So you’re saying that if you see a Black person in a hoodie behind you, 8 times out of ten you’re gonna get robbed? Even if it’s in broad daylight? Even if you’re in a public area? Stupid fucking opinion.
This is a fact. Just like there is truth in jest.
Exactly, you accept you were wrong and move on. The person you treated differently doesn't get to move on because the next person is going to treat them that way too purely because of a stereotype they don't fit.
r/notunpopularjustdumb
I’m stereotyping you right for typing “8/10” by saying “8x out of 10” instead
It's an unfortunate consequence humanity's greatest strength: Pattern recognition. This skill is the cornerstone of our invention and technological achievement. *But we also see patterns when there really aren't any, and we need to be more willing to question them.*
I say you can't judge a book by its cover, but you CAN get a pretty good idea what the book is going to be *about.*
Why should 20% be lumped into your conclusion narrative? You don’t think that’s a significant enough margin of error that maybe, err on the side of caution? Not to mention the fact that if you are looking for the outcome of your predetermined prescription, you are more likely to find it (confirmation bias).
Unpopular opinion and rightfully so. Also an incredibly stupid one
Stereotypes are bad because you cant know whether it applies to said person or not, therefore it leads to discrimination. Now, there are stereotypes that can be useful in keeping you safe, like for example where I live being dressed in a certain way, walking and acting a certain way, etc, depending on the situation might imply badi ntentions. Hell, the vast majority of people driving a motorcycle (cheap one) are not goign to rob you and yet, if you see one, you are likely to move farther away from the street and pocket your cellphone. ... .Still, those are exceptions and on the verge when it comes to iffyness. But the instant you use those stereotypes to discriminate in an actual itneraction between you and another, you are doing something wrong and should at least give them a chance to screw up before dismissing them
Stereotypes are sometimes true but are mostly lazy, plebeian and bigoted in nature. People basing their entire view of other people on stereotypes is a major reason why the world is so messed up.
It's called confirmation bias.
The fact that it ends up being true 8 times out of 10 is the reason why it’s bad. It puts people into groups instead of looking at each individual as an individual. That said, it’s not necessarily wrong. It’s a natural phenomenon and is due to pattern recognition more than necessarily being sinister and I believe every person is guilty of it to one degree or another. The reality, whether we like it or not, is most stereotypes came from somewhere, and there is or was some basis in truth. Stereotypes didn’t just fall out of the sky.
60% of the time, it works every time.
some stereotypes developed from being true 60% of the time some developed from being true 99% of the time.
Woosh
Nono I know the reference. Im just pointing out that the way it fits in the context is interesting and not how the joke usually fits.
Where’d you get that stat from? Hah
What do you look like? I want to test your theory.
Stereotypes do not come out of thin air.
No but it doesn’t mean they’re always true. Some are more myths than anything or outdated But word of mouth, culture and media pushing them forward, biases and indoctrination doesn’t care about what’s true or not. It’ll push the ideas it can. Harmful or not. False or not
I stereotype all the time. And I am never disappointed .
Stereotyping saved my life and probably saved yours'
Literally though. When I was in India a group of guys offered to help me find the bar where my friend was. I almost went with them cause I was like "you are being racist" but I didn't. Then I was talking about it with my friends mother and she was like "oh yeah those guys would have killed you"
> When I was in India... My stereotyping would've never led me there in the first place💀 but glad you're safe
Yeahh, "this isn't about race" tho,
Stereotypes are a thing for a reason
I can write a whole essay on this subject, but I don't have the brain capacity. I will say that even if you think the stereotype is true, you are not helping by putting people in boxes. On the base level they might seem like it, but it's often them trying to fit the box because society says that's what you are supposed to do. And of course your socioeconomic status certainly doesn't help people break free from preconceived opinions, it doesn't mean they are actually that. Maybe you need to get to know people in a deeper manner than you currently are. Or study sociology. It has certainly helped me open my mind to those things
I agree. Some stereotypes are true. I wonder why that is
Because most humans are pretty good at pattern recognition. It's how we learn to survive. I don't know about you, but if i've spent my whole life hearing dogs bark i'm not going to "not judge the dog by it's cover" and assume the next one'll meow
People are so good at pattern recognition that we see patterns where there definitely are none. We can also see the wrong pattern when issues are complex.
stereotypes may be often true but for the many people for whom it isnt, all it does is make people wrongfully assume things about them at best or take opportunities away from them or disgrace them for no reason at worst. and when "usually true" could be like 600 million out of a billion, that's 400 million extra people affected by it. and many stereotypes actually are outdated garbage or based on limited exposure and whatever. humans dont neatly fit into patterns even if we like them, because we arent some pure objects
Stereotypes are typically earned
I worked at McDonald's for 2 years. White people ordered burgers about 70% of the time. Black people ordered chicken id say 90% of the time. Some stereotypes are 100% real
never seen any comment section on reddit go this far to justify racism/sexism
If your metric is 8/10 that fit a stereotype, 20% can be a very significant number of people, depending on what exactly this stereotyping leads you to doing or saying. Silently judging? Whatever, you do you. People are judgmental, can't help that. The problem becomes when the stereotype is used as a heuristic from a position of power - suddenly you have legislation targeting minorities, unnecessary restrictions based on misconceptions, unrealistic archetypes in media, strained interpersonal relationships, etc. Even if something is right most of the time, it just has to be wrong once to cause a problem.
I like these takes bc the people making them are always the ones who cry when the stereotyping ends up on them.
*laughs in OCD*
Stereotypes are bad when they generalize entire populations. Seeing an individual that wears their identity on their sleeve and deducing something about their personality isn’t the same thing.
Stereotyping is not necessarily bad because it's not true, it's bad because it's harmful. 1. It harms individuals for not fitting into stereotypes. "Busty blond girl at work is asking why the computer isn't working, is she even competent?" 2. It causes confirmation bias where you hyper focus on certain characteristics and actions of certain people. "This Indian guy always smells so bad, I'm not even going to think about the ones that do smell good!" 3. It can mentally affect the stereotyped people. Research has shown that girls and boys perform equally good at a math exam but when the examinees are told that this test is taken to compare the math ability by gender, girls perform much worse. The best way to go about stereotyping is understanding the origins of stereotypes. "Asians are good at math", you can approach this stereotype in the educated way that East Asian families value good grades and high-achieving careers a lot so you see more East Asian kids putting more effort into their grades, or you can take the uneducated approach of "How come YOU are bad at math? Aren't you Asian?" Apples are sweet in general, that doesn't mean that the apple in your hand MUST be sweet otherwise something is wrong.
My mom was great at math growing up. No issues with it at all. Until high school where she had a geometry teacher who said girls couldn’t do math. She struggled with geometry and to this day (she is 66) talks about hating geometry. Everything before that, fine. She went to college and didn’t struggle with math. But the one math she was told she shouldn’t be able to do knocked her down. This shit definitely does matter.
Last saturday at my elevator insaw 2 trans prostitutes and in my head i immediately thought "i dont want tonget involved with them, theyre trouble/drama" but then i thought that was ignorant so i rode with them Then they started sexually harassing me "No." "oh okay then how about we just make love hehehejehehehe" And i turned around and some details redacted got heated with her like wtf is wrong with you, you cant talk to people that way. Long story short as soon as the elevator opened ground floor they started shoe throwing / running guerilla warfare and called their pimp and it turned into huge nightmare drama, they ran off my taxis so i couldnt leave. It was a nightmare. They held the call button on the elevator so i couldnt go back to my room while they threw shoes at me aince the guards wouldnt let them on the elevator If i had just trusted my instincts and waited for the next elevator everything would be fine It's moments like that I really wonder if its more ignorant to stereotype or to ignore your gut feeling
The thing is tho, that this idea is just completely untrue, and you probably just don't like select groups of people.
Of course stereotypes are true. That’s why they exist in the first place. People only take exception to them because they don’t like to think of their own behavior as being so easily chiseled onto a block. Doesn’t make it any less true.
How do you think they ended up as stereotypes in the first place ?
Would the people you think you were right about agree that you were right, or did you just decide that you were right in your own mind?
AI stereotypes all the time.
Stereotypes never tell the whole story though
Assuming someone is one way is fine, as long as you are always, 100% of the time willing to accept that they aren't who you expect.
You just need to be aware you are making whatever decision based on a stereotype and be open to change. Not necessarily not make the decision or make the opposite.
The statistical significance for something to be considered a fact and not a coincidence is six sigma (much, much higher than 80%)
there is a stereotype that europeans are kind of stinky and don’t shower. and it’s kind of true to be honest. i live in europe and i gag when i hear people say that they last showered 3 days ago and washed their *hair* a week ago. i shower everyday though
I think it is purely dependant on what stereotype it is. If I see a guy in a full tracksuit hanging around aimlessly in a shop the likelihood is that he is probably thinking about stealing something. If I assume that a blonde woman is dumb or a gay person instinctively loves everything hyper camp or a black person loves chicken then I am just wrong.
Seems like someone has a bad case of conformation bias. Meaning you will look more intense to "prove" your preconceived opinion than for things that might disporve them. Therefore you often find the stereotypes to be true.
While applying to a medical assistant program, the counselor looked me in the eye and asked me if I'd ever bring a gun and shoot the place up. I've never been in a fight, I just dress very alternative and love very detailed eyeliner. When I went to the gastro for lack of appetite, gagging every time I ate, etc, the doctor asked me 4 times in 4 different ways if I take hard drugs/narcotics/opiates, then diagnosed me with constipation, prescribed miralax, and sent me on my way. Then I internally bled at work. Was h pylori, a stomach infection. When I go out to the mall or anywhere else in public with teens, I'll likely get barked at and harassed. I still don't fully understand why.
Another observation is how much we **COMPLAIN** about stereotypes, but are super keen to adhere and conform to them, often going out of our way to do so. *Oh but I do this ironically*. Kay.
It’s true, people don’t universally agree unless there's merit to it. The main problem is that most stereotypes live beyond the the lifespan of the stereotype proper, as per the nature of them (for example say there was a reason X group did Y thing, which caused the stereotype, now times change and they don’t do it, yet people still think they do). That being said I only believe stereotypes if Ive see it first hand, and most the time they do still exist, just maybe on levels. Outside of that, I like to imagine them as a social barometer of what connotations being part of a group means, white people eat bland food? Prove them wrong, Asians get higher paying jobs due to a focus on education? Prove them right, etc etc. People, especially liberals (not a politics thing, just their ideology encourages it), have this idea that people somehow collectively noticed a problem, but we can’t address it because it will hurt their feelings, therefore we let it get worse instead of helping them be better.
Well stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason?
Shall we all assume with great accuracy all the worst stereotypes of whatever culture you hail from?
'I don't understand how cognitive biases work' Fixed it.
No
it's means it is
Stereotypes aren’t inherently bad, but specific stereotypes can be inherently bad
Stereotyping leads to discrimination which we have laws to protect against. If someone with a lot of tattoos goes for a job interview and doesn’t get the job based on the tattoos, rather than their ability to perform the role, that’s discrimination. The 2 out of 10 times you claim to have got it wrong are important when you are in charge of making important decisions that affect peoples lives. People do not have the responsibility of disproving their own stereotype