The effect of stereotypes

Very simply, a stereotype is a general perception about a group of people. This perception could be complimentary or derogatory, and may arise from utterly random occurrences; because it has no verifiable basis in anything other than immediate incidents, you could find two people of a similar background exhibiting similar behavior, and a stereotype would grow out of this; with people naturally expecting all persons having these features, to exhibit the same traits.

I’d like to start off by saying stereotypes are absolute nonsense! To pick on one we’re all familiar with; ‘everyone knows blondes are dumb’, ‘dumb blonde’, perhaps because blonde women and men are often physically attractive, the stereotype has arisen that they cannot be both physically and mentally perfect, and as such, they must be less intelligent than their (not necessarily) less-attractive counterparts. If only someone would undertake research to actually establish if blonde women are really dumb… oh, wait! Somebody actually did, and here’s a shocker; researchers at Ohio State University, after examining 10,878 baby-booming women, came to the conclusion that blonde women, at an average 103.2. I.Q. were marginally more intelligent than women with other hair colours. Ergo, not only is the stereotype patently wrong, it appears to be informed only by spite and malice.

One would think a supposition having no basis in fact, would be completely ineffectual, but that is not the case; for research has shown that, when a stereotype (stereotype threat) such as ‘women perform lower than men in math-based tests’, or ‘African Americans do poorly in mathematics’, is communicated to a group, women or African Americans (or any other group against which the stereotype threat applies) taking such a test, perform markedly worse than their counterparts. It becomes apparent that knowledge of the stereotype makes them second-guess themselves, attempt the same question multiple times, and generally strike out originally correct answers in favour of latter, incorrect ones.

The sad thing is, stereotypes can be expressed in the most innocuous ways, and do not even have to come from a person in authority; and if expressed without any test being signed up for, you would very likely find people just avoiding the situation completely. Rather than prove the stereotype true, they’ll claim to have no interest whatsoever in math, and then they can chalk up average or performances to disenchantment.

Since stereotype threats can be issued consciously or unconsciously, and at both formative and relatively mature stages in a person’s life, we must make a conscious effort to leave out stereotypes. It is important to stress (both to children and to young adults) how big an impact preparation and concentrated effort, has on intellectual performance. If you take the time to study, get familiar with appropriate formulae, and consistently attack math problems, you get good at it, and it doesn’t matter one whit what colour you are, or where you’re from.