Should You Trust Everything You See? Maritza De La Luz

Main Point Stereotyping is a way we learn about others, but it is also a way we start a war with each other. When being stereotyped, it stays with that person and it will cause them to hate that particular race.

Stereotyping A belief about someone, whether it be good or bad, wrong or right. Stereotyping can lead to hatred. We all learn about others by observing what they do, what they were, how they act, and what they believe in. It’s hard not to stereotype people because it’s how we live and how we learn but we learn wrong.

Stereotyping Cont. Every culture has its stereotype: Irish people, African American people, Polish people and even Jewish people. But it is not just centered on backgrounds and race. It can also be on gender. For example: if one says that all women like to cook, then they’re stereotyping all women. Stereotyping is not just bad, it is hurtful.

Research "Even after a person leaves a situation where they faced negative stereotypes, the effects of coping with that situation remain," says Inzlicht.  Inzlicht performed a test that included s few people. They were place in a situation where they had to perform a task in the face of negative stereotyping. Their results showed that prejudice and stereotyping have a lingering adverse impact. “Just because participants in a study will trot out stereotypes when asked does not mean to say that people go around acting on them. People do not necessarily behave as though the stereotypes are true” (McLeod, 2008).

Personal Experience I was stereotyped by one of my classmates. She thought that just because I was Mexican, I would get pregnant, and drop out of high school. She thought that I did drugs and I get drunk at weddings and party all night long. She once asked me if I leave school to do drugs.

Discovery/Learning through Writing It’s hard not to stereotype a person or a group of people. As I wrote my paper, I realized that, even though I didn’t notice it before, I stereotyped others. I told myself that I was not going stereotyped people but it is hard not to. When writing, I discovered that I am writing for a reason and not just to myself or an audience. There is no such thing as right because others might think we are wrong. We have opinions we write down and we have beliefs of what we think is right.

Conclusion Stereotyping can lead to hatred towards others. If one person says something bad about another because of what they see, then that race will think that that person and their race are all the same. We need to know about that person before we make a judgment. Though it’s hard for us not to stereotype, we need to keep wrong and even right assumptions to ourselves because what we think is right other people could think is wrong. Our definition of right might be different from other’s definition of right.

References Inzlicht, M. University of Toronto. "Stereotyping has a lasting negative impact, new research finds."ScienceDaily, 10 Aug. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. McLeod, S. A. (2008). Simply Psychology; Stereotypes. Retrieved 19 April 2012, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html