The Inclusive Language Guidelines of the American Psychological Association (2021) defines stereotypes as a “set of cognitive generalizations (e.g., beliefs, expectations) about the qualities and characteristics of the members of a group or social category”. In general terms, stereotypes are formed from our experiences, by also from what we learn from sources such as media, parents, teachers, peers (etc). Indeed, they are knowledge, beliefs and expectations that in a certain way influence what we think, feel and how we behave. This is the reason why stereotypes play an important role in society (Brown et al., 2014). They generally create negative effects on people due to the fact that they describe schemas that “simplify and expedite perceptions and judgments, but they are often exaggerated, negative rather than positive, and resistant to revision even when perceivers encounter individuals with qualities that are not congruent with the stereotype” (American Psychological Association, 2021).
In practical terms, we don’t know people and how they are, what they really think, what they feel, and how they would like to be perceived or how they would like to live their own lives. Indeed, through stereotypes people assign images that can harm other people by placing expectations on what they should be; this is well-known and debated in gender-related stereotypes (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2019).
References
American Psychological Association (2021). Inclusive language guidelines. https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines.pdf
Brown, E. R., Smith, J. L., Huntoon, M. (2014). Stereotype Effects and Attributions: Inside and Out. In: D.C. Phillips (ed.), Encyclopedia of educational theory and philosophy, (pp. 785-788). SAGE.
European Institute for Gender Equality (2019). Toolkit on Gender-sensitive Communication: A resource for policymakers, legislators, media and anyone else with an interest in making their communication more inclusive. Publications Office of the European Union https://eige.europa.eu/publications-resources/toolkits-guides/gender-sensitive-communication
