Stereotypes: We're Stuck With Them

What kind of people use stereotypes? The answer may be startling: every kind of people. Psychologists once believed that only bigoted people used stereotypes, however, the study of unconscious bias has shown that everyone uses it, all the time, and mostly unconsciously. "We have met the enemy of equality, and the enemy is us" (Annie Paul).

In the early 1990's, researchers who studied stereotyping conducted experiments that only tested the conscious side of stereotyping: those that a person chooses to exhibit. Their style of experimentation led to inevitable bias, as its highly doubtful that a majority of people would express their inner thoughts on such a topic. Thus, what was recorded in their 'statistical studies' was actually just scratching the surface of prejudice.

Later, psychologists began to understand the error in this source of data - that the unconscious plays a much greater role in a persons biases and stereotypes than their surface feelings do. A study was then conducted in order to test this theory. Participants were given a random list of names, characteristically 'white' or 'black', and a list of positive or negative adjectives. These were given in pairs, and participants clicked a button to disagree or agree with the matching and the response time differences were marked down to analyze the subliminal influence of stereotypes. By a statistically significant margin, the white-positive and black-negative correlation was shown in both Caucasians and African Americans. Other studies showed a that when given a list of names and chosen to find 'famous people', men are chosen at 2-to-1 ratio to females. As surprising as these findings are, they confirmed many hunches human behavior. Because of these unconscious influences, a person who seems to be a 'bleeding-heart liberal' might be just as biased as a 'neo-Nazi skinhead'.  

These unconscious responses are the main influence in stereotypes. They are based upon our past experiences and situations, or the bias and prejudice passed down onto us from others. Some scientists believe in the truth of stereotypes because of this; however, most argue vehemently against it. "Even if there is a kernel of truth in the stereotype, you're still applying a generalization about a group to an individual, which is always incorrect," says Bargh, Ph.D., of New York University. Whether they are true or not, stereotypes are an unavoidable part of our lives, created and influenced by unconscious choices and reactions we make.