Appendix B

Part I

Define the following terms:

Term Definition
Stereotypes Unreliable, exaggerated generalizations about all members of a group that do not take individual differences into account.
Prejudice A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, such as a racial group or ethnic minority.
Labeling theory The view of deviance in which someone being labeled as a “deviant” leads a person to engage in deviant behavior. This theory was originated by Howard Becker’s work in the 1960s. The labeling theory explains why people’s behavior clashes with societal norms.

Part II

Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each:

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Gender
• Sexual orientation
• Age
• Disability

Category Stereotype 1 Stereotype 2 Stereotype 3
Religion All Muslim are terrorists. All Jews are cheap. All Mormons believe in polygamy.
Age Children- loud, spoiled, and unintelligent Teens- Selfish, lazy, and unemployed Adults- Work-oriented, bossy, look down on teenagers
Disability Emotionally disturbed Crippled Dumb

Part III

Answer each question in 100 to 150 words related to those stereotypes:

• What are the positive aspects of the stereotypes, if any?

- Stereotyping in the positive aspect could be understood as the way in which people reduce the complexity of the world to a more manageable level. It helps protect our minds from information overload. For this reason, we resort to simplified assumptions of other people and countries and their characteristics. Many restaurant establishments may deliberately select a French association for their food in order to benefit from the positive associations many consumers have with French food. For humans to avoid sensory overload, we tend to select specific information to which we are exposed to at any given time.

• What are the negative aspects of stereotypes?

- The negative aspect of stereotypes describes someone’s characteristics carrying a negative thought at another individual or group of people. Stereotyping is usually not accurate and used in a sense to hurt someone’s feelings. It is a lack of understanding and ignorance that we stereotype by placing second hand labels on someone. At some point we have all have been guilty of stereotyping someone either negative or positive; all stereotypes are limited and leave little to no room for individuality. Perhaps a child belongs to a racial group known for being highly intelligent. This particular child, however, suffers from a learning disability and struggles to keep up with his classmates in school. Although his teacher buys into the stereotype that this child is supposed to be excellent in class because “his people” are highly intelligent, she might assume that this child is lazy and never do the investigative work that’s needed to discover his learning disability; which may have saved the child from years of struggling in school. I will conclude by saying that stereotypes obviously affect our social judgment and distorts our perception.

Answer each question in 150 to 250 words related to those stereotypes:

• What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the difference?

- The difference between stereotyping and prejudice is stereotyping is thinking of a group that acts a certain kind of way, not thinking that one person in that group may be different; even though others in the group may share the same characteristics. Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people; people consisting of an entire racial or ethnic group even though they may have little to no contact with the group. An example to illustrate stereotyping is all Mexicans come to America illegally, don’t speak fluent English, and they are nasty because 12 people (families) will live in a small apartment. An example of prejudice is something we actually deal with everyday and that is sharing our country America with immigrants that want to make this their home, share the same rights, but we look down on them because they were not born here and may not speak fluent English.

• What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice?

- The relationship between stereotyping and prejudice are the same in many ways; it deals with a negative attitude or beliefs. For example when 9-11 happened everyone became skeptical of Muslims and Arabs, because they were responsible for the bombing. You do have some Muslims that share the same religion but they don’t have the same beliefs and they come here because they want a better life, but the Americans just see them as a threat because of others. So when we see them wrapped in their clothing we look at them a certain way, or we put in extra security at the airports for safety from those that might target that area.

• What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring?

- To prevent prejudice, we need to start in the schools because it’s something that is taught, it doesn’t come naturally. We can start with the kids in grade school by not making the schools so segregated; because some whites don’t want their kids going to school with black children due to the stereotype that most come from welfare homes. The parents will find out that the kids don’t understand the prejudice behind color of one’s skin, but they are receiving the same attention and education regardless of what’s going on at home. It can also start with the education system. Schools should be funded the same so that the kids won’t have the question of why does their school have computers and we don’t, or why is their food different than ours; leaving the child wanting to attend the other school of appearance and the other child acting as if they are better than the other because of how their education is given. It can also start with the government segregating homes due to society and income. And last, it can change with adults. If we took the time to get to know a person for who they are and not for things such as; race, what we drive, what side of town we live on or was raised and educational background, we would get along better as individuals.