Such stereotyping can be damaging and lead to discriminatory attitudes and behaviors.
What Is Racial Stereotyping?
But these shortcuts are generalizations and rarely accurate assessments of an individual or group.
Maskot / Getty Images
Theyre whats known as acognitive bias.
Once you establish these beliefs, changing your way of thinking is difficult.
This is because youll unintentionally look for evidence that affirms your beliefs and discounts any evidence to the contrary.
When left unchecked, stereotypes may lead toprejudiceanddiscrimination.
Acknowledging stereotypes and their psychological impact, however, is the first step in breaking down those beliefs.
How Racial Stereotypes Are Formed
When you encounter someone, you makesplit-second judgmentsbased on that individuals appearance.
And these judgments will affect how you feel and how you act.
Many of your stereotypes were developed when you were a child.
However, research shows we tend to categorize people according to their subtypes.
Other subtypes might include “Black athletes” or “White businessmen.”
How Racial Stereotypes Influence Your Behavior
Your stereotypes affect how you behave as well.
Here are some examples:
Microagressions
Stereotypes are also likely to lead tomicroaggressions.
This threat results in increased stress, anxiety, and self-doubt.
This can contribute to disengagement, underperformance, andself-handicapping.
It may help them experience some cohesion.
Consequently, negative stereotypes can become aself-fulfilling prophecy.
Fortunately, it’s possible for you to take steps to change harmful stereotypes.
If you hold negative racial stereotypes about other people, it is important to start taking an active approach.
Work on becoming anti-racist by actively challenging negative attitudes and beliefs about others whenever you encounter such ideas.
APA Dictionary of Psychology.Definition of racial socialization.
Korteling JE, Brouwer AM, Toet A.A neural data pipe framework for cognitive bias.Front Psychol.
2016;11(1):e0146487.
