Podcast

The podcast episode discusses the differences between stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, and their impacts. Stereotyping refers to generalized beliefs about a group of people, prejudice refers to biased feelings towards a group, and discrimination is the differential behavior towards a group. Positive stereotypes can still have negative effects, as they can pigeonhole individuals and create unrealistic expectations. The brain naturally categorizes people, but conscious awareness and rejection of stereotypes can help lessen their influence. Positive stereotypes can be harmful and often go unnoticed. The article mentioned in the episode explores the effects of positive stereotypes. It is important to recognize and challenge stereotypes, as they can limit opportunities and harm individuals. Sexism is discussed as an example of a real-world problem influenced by stereotypes. It is encouraged to speak up against stereotypes and not propagate them. Stereotypes, even when disguised Hello lovely ladies and gentlemen, I am your host Anna. Welcome back to Psyched, a podcast that delves into the nitty-gritty of psychology. We ask questions like, what is the reasoning behind certain thought processes? How can we make this make sense? And why does our brain hate us? Today, let's try and figure it out. In today's episode, we will be discussing the differences between stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, along with a deeper look into their impacts. Stereotyping relates to cognition. It is the generalized beliefs about the attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of someone as a consequence of that perceived group membership. This group can be anything from religion to race to eye color. Whatever group you fall into carries certain automatic connotations that pop into people's minds. Prejudice relates to affect. It is the biased feelings or attitudes about someone as a consequence of their perceived group membership. Just as I stated before, this group can be defined however you choose, no matter how insignificant. Discrimination is related to behavior. It is the differential behaviors you take towards someone as a consequence of their perceived group membership. So, discrimination is the only one that involves a form of action. Interestingly, and I'm not sure if all of you listeners know this, because for a long time, I did not, prejudice and stereotyping can be categorized as positive or negative. You can think a very specific positive thing about a group of people that may not be true to each individual member, but since they are a part of that group as a whole, you attribute each individual person that character trait. While this is categorized as positive, it of course has its share of negative effects. Expecting someone to act a certain way can pigeonhole them into a certain position. If they don't act as you predicted, you may view them as underperforming. They aren't living up to your expectations and thus are a disappointment. Let me ask you, listener, can you think of a positive stereotype? One very common example of this is that Asians are good at math. This is such a common stereotype, but of course, it is not always true. Every race and culture includes individuals with unique qualities, especially for American-born and educated Asians, there is no reason that they would be any better at math than any other American-born race. Mathematical skill is not genetic, but many Americans think that it is and assume Asian-American kids will outperform white American kids regardless of circumstance. As funny as it may sound, this is something that people actually believe and it is not always a conscious effort. Most people don't live their lives considering each and every observation they make. Most of the time, you think certain thoughts, make certain snap judgments, and go on about your day. Rarely do you stop and consider why you made assumptions about certain people. Now don't worry, this is a natural phenomenon. You are not racist or sexist or anything of the sort for making these snap judgments. Our brain is programmed for quick categorization, with its goal being to keep us safe and proficient. We develop schemas to quickly categorize different people, places, and situations. As I said before, this is a natural occurrence and nothing to work yourself up over. What you should be aware of, however, is your conscious use of that stereotype. The big difference between a low prejudice individual and a high prejudice individual is the conscious use of a stereotype. As long as you are aware of a stereotype popping up in your mind, you have the choice to deny that stereotype or embrace it. If you are able to deny it, you are lessening its connection. You are decreasing the strength of that schema and making it less likely that you will make snap judgments in the future. Good for you. Breaking up these schemas is an important task. If you are quick to make assumptions about certain people or groups of people, you may miss out on a number of opportunities. Imagine holding on to the stereotype that all blonde women are simple and vain. Should a doctor fitting this description be selected to treat you, you may elect to wait for another doctor or ignore the woman's instruction. Despite being equally qualified to the other doctors, her appearance may deter you from accepting the help that you came for. This can hurt you as you are not accepting the timely medical treatment you need, as well as hurt the doctor. Consciously accepting and discriminating based on stereotypes can be harmful to you and those around you. You wouldn't want someone to make assumptions about you based on the group in which they categorize you, so I urge you to make an effort to avoid discrimination as well. In one study titled the insidious and ironic effects of positive stereotypes by Kay, Day, Zanna, and Nussbaum, the consequences of positive stereotypes are discussed. I urge you to give this article a read if you find the time. The article discusses the interesting effects of positive stereotyping and how it goes unnoticed by so many in day-to-day life. A negative stereotype is much more obvious and easier to call out. A stereotype disguised as a compliment, not so much. The results of the study conducted found that those exposed to positive stereotypes about African Americans had a 44.4 percent likelihood of reporting bias, whereas participants exposed to negative stereotypes had a 73.9 percent likelihood of reporting bias. This is quite a significant jump. Here we see how when phrased positively, many people are oblivious to stereotyping. Less than 50 percent identified positive stereotypes as bias. I'm not sure about you, but a statistic like that makes me want to take a long look at myself and consider the stereotypes I may not be fully acknowledging. There is so much more interesting information within the article and I encourage you to read it if you have some spare time and an interest in the impacts of stereotyping. Think in your day-to-day life, based on the findings of this study, how likely are you to acknowledge a positive stereotype? Can you think of a time a family member, friend, or even a stranger made a comment that, looking back, you realize was stereotyping? Or perhaps you did realize in the moment that it was stereotyping, but since it was positive, you didn't see the harm or consider it a bias. I can say that, looking back, this has definitely happened to me and, armed with this information, I hope to make improvements in my future conversations, as I hope you will too. With the knowledge we have learned here today and all that we will continue to learn throughout life, it is important to consider how we can use this knowledge in real-world scenarios. Let's say, for example, sexism. Sexism is unfortunately still a very real-world problem, but now that we know about stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, schemas, and positive stereotyping, we are better equipped to take on this problem. From now on, when someone says women are always better with kids, consider how, while being a compliment, this can pigeonhole women into being seen only as caregivers. They will be less likely to be considered for corporate or other intense jobs. When someone says that women are better behaved, cleaner, and kinder than men, consider how this form of flattery puts women on a pedestal. It creates a character mold, and if a woman does not fit into that mold, she is seen as falling short of what she should be. When you see this happening, if you have the confidence, say something. Call out the stereotype. If you are uncomfortable doing so, don't worry. As long as you are reminding yourself not to propagate such stereotypes, you are severing the schemas in your mind and making your own difference. Even when veiled as compliments, stereotypes are harmful. Remember, if you are placed on a pedestal, there is nowhere to go but down. Thank you for listening. Once again, my name is Anna, and this has been an episode of Psyched.