Judgment Stereotypes and Judgments Stereotypes

¶ … Judgment

Stereotypes and Judgments

Stereotypes are limited views of a group or type of people that is based on information that is not correct because it is oversimplified, incomplete, or distorted. No one is immune to the effects of stereotypes, and every person will inevitably experience the holding and receiving end of this harmful social phenomenon. Stereotypes may be based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical appearance, level of education, socioeconomic class, and many other factors. Stereotypes are a major contributing factor to the judgments each person will make about another person or group of people. In order to make the most accurate judgments in every situation, the presence of stereotypes must be addressed, discussed, and dispelled.

The kinds of stereotypes that may influence a judgment include racial stereotypes, which may be called racism, where race or ethnicity can be the basis for rejection or acceptance of a person, without any real thought behind the decision. Examples of different common racial/ethnic stereotypes that may cause unfair judgment are that Jewish people are obsessed with money, Maori people cannot keep track of time, Asian women are shy but highly sexual, English people are unfriendly, and many others along these lines. (Human Rights Commission) Certainly, different racial, ethnic, religious and other groups have some common characteristics that can be found throughout the culture. However, when these common characteristics are exaggerated, over-generalized, or applied to every member of a group they become stereotypes, and stereotypes are inevitably harmful.

Stereotypes may identify unfair and ungrounded negative traits about a group, or they may identify unrealistically high expectations. Either way, it can be very harmful to all parties involved. Assumptions may be made that a particular group of people are always lazy, or that they are good at one kind of work but not another, or that everyone in a certain group holds a particular talent. Judgments may be made based on these assumptions that deny people their rights, make them feel inferior, limit their opportunities to advance in life, or make it impossible for them to live up to expectations. "The person on the receiving end of a stereotyped judgment is devalued. Their individual talents, skills and abilities are not given genuine consideration. Their rights are diminished as they may be unable to have their complaint of unjust treatment taken seriously. Even positive stereotypes can be harmful. This can devalue people if they feel that they do not measure up to expectations set for them through a stereotyped judgment." (Human Rights Commission)

Stereotyping makes it particularly difficult for true and unbiased ethnic and cultural factors to be taken into consideration when making judgments. When turned into a stereotype instead of a valid consideration used on an individual basis, cultural differences can hinder communication. Different cultures have vastly different communication norms. For example, different cultures have different expectations about eye contact, body gestures, and especially proxemics and tactile communication styles. "In areas of the Middle East and South America, people stand very close when talking. European-Americans like to have more distance between them, while some African-Americans prefer even more space." (McGee)

Low-contact cultures, such as North American, Northern European and Asian cultures, prefer to communicate in the Social Zone (four to twelve feet) and tend to avoid physical contact. High-contact cultures, such as Mediterranean, Arab, and Latin cultures, prefer to communicate within the Intimate and Personal Zones (up to four feet) and do use a great deal of tactile communication. (Bremer) Even different races within the same country may have a difficult time with tactile communication because of the significant differences in comfort levels. "Halberstadt's (1985) gave a review of race differences in nonverbal behavior. Among adults, blacks establish larger interpersonal distances than whites do but engage in more interpersonal touch." (Chang)