25.5: Features of Stereotypes

We noted three key features of stereotypes above. They are (i) typically inaccurate, (ii) attribute the same features to virtually all members of a group (even though there are enormous differences among the group members), and (iii) are often very resistant to change. Since different stereotypes are inaccurate in different ways, issues of accuracy are best discussed when examining specific stereotypes. But we can say something general about the other two points.

Homogeneity

The Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

The out-group homogeneity bias is the common tendency to see other groups (especially “out-groups”; e.g., people of other races, religions, countries, sexual orientation) as more homogeneous than they really are. Group members tend to see their own group as quite varied, whereas members of other groups are thought to be much more alike.

Because the members of out-groups are viewed as more similar than they really are, it is easier to think that most of them fit a simple stereotype that lumps all of them together. We tend to think of this person as “just one more of them”—just another person from India, rather than as the unique individual Rajeev Singh.

Various factors can account for the out-group homogeneity bias. In some cases, people have little interaction with members of the out-group, and so they rely on a common stereotype that presents a simplified picture of the group. People may also be exposed to an unrepresentative sample of group members, perhaps because they only interact with a few people in the group or because they rely on media coverage that tends to focus on a small segment of it (e.g., athletes, executives, criminals).

Strong Identification with One’s Group

People’s identification with an in-group can be very strong. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s in-group (e.g., the people in one’s country, region, religion) are superior to members of other groups. It need not involve ill treatment of those in other groups, but it often involves a distrust or wariness of them. Communalism is an extreme form of ethnocentrism. It is the tendency for people to divide into groups based on religion, race, language, ethnic identity, or some other common feature. Insofar as it involves a pride in one’s heritage and culture, there is nothing wrong with it, but it often spills over into prejudice and even violence against members of other groups. The “ethnic cleansing” in Kosavo, the strife between Tutsis and Hutus in Rwanda, or the closed aspects of various societies in the Middle East involve communalist tendencies. It is an irony of the modern world that increasing globalization and increasing communalism are both on the rise (in some cases, the latter is surely a reaction to the former).

Resistance to Change

Stereotypes and prejudices are often very difficult to change. It is frequently thought that many prejudiced people harbor prejudices partly because they have never really known members of the target group. Hence, if they can meet such people and interact with them in a positive setting, this will help them to see the group members as unique people, ones with many of the same features they themselves have, rather than simply as members of a group. This is often called the contact hypothesis: contact between individual members of groups in a positive setting where they are treated as equals will help each person become less prejudiced about the other.

Sometimes this works, but it is not as effective as we would hope. One reason for this is that prejudices often have a deeply rooted emotional component, sometimes one going all the way back to a person’s socialization as a young child. In watching and talking to our parents and (later) others around us, especially our peer group, we internalize norms for thinking about different groups in different ways. But people also have cognitive (reasoning) biases and employ cognitive heuristics that help them retain prejudices, even when they interact with members of the target group who don’t remotely fit their stereotype. We will examine some of these in a moment, but first it will be useful to look at some of the cognitive mechanisms involved with prejudice.