'For example, the representation of the African continent and some parts of Latin America is of war-ravaged, poverty-riddled, illiterate populations who depend on foreign aid to survive. On many occasions, through books and mass media, the victims of the depiction of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America feel they are robbed of their dignity, respect, and humanity,'
Stereotypes have adverse effects to those who are targeted, and can have long term lingering ramifications, manifesting in the lives of victims. Cognitive perceptions indicate how the development of ubiquitous behaviors contributes to either positive or negative stereotyping. A stereotype based on social cognition is the “negative or positive belief that we hold on about the characteristics of a social group” (Stangor, Rajiv and Hammond). On many occasionson’ stereotypes have adverse effects on psychological and cognitive development or people, their performance, and socialization density in the society. Therefore, this paper will explore how negative stereotypes hinder growth, socialization and how they alter the perspective of one social group to another.
One of the adverse effects of stereotypes on the international stage is that it causes economic and political marginalization of victim’s especially when it generalizes races. For example, the representation of African continent and some part of Latin America is of war-ravaged, poverty riddled, illiterate populations who depend on foreign aid to survive. On many occasions, through books and mass media, the victims of the depiction of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America feel they are robbed of their dignity, respect, and humanity, therefore, lead to strained social interactions in society. Adichie Chimamanda argues that a single-story narrative creates “stereotypes and stereotypes are not only untrue, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story”. Therefore, misconceptions and assumptions cause social ignorance in both victims and the in-ward groups. The effect is that victims feel dehumanized, and on the larger scale, its impact can be felt on the delegitimizing of the victim’s social, political and economic actors. Stereotypes influence the perpetrator to put the victims into a category, developing false perceptions and make human interactions difficult. A victim of a stereotype feel dehumanized, and this can lead to low self-esteem and personal development.
Another effect of negative stereotypes is that it hinders the development of self-identity to the victims. The cognitive representation of what one believes towards in an in-group or an out-group, and when that belief is acted subconsciously or consciously through attitudes and feelings, it becomes prejudice (Stangor, Rajiv, and Hammond). The article “Fellow Nerds, Let’s Celebrate our Nerdiness” is representation of how people expect the worst of people who fit the nerd description. In this case, people would find it amusing for a nerd to give a lively speech, or a nerd to take a dip into freezing waters or having a life beyond the classrooms. In this case, stereotypes disarm the victims, robs their motivation of expression, self-determination, and kills their potential to undertake activities bigger than them. The common stereotype perpetuated by the media on nerds and geeks is that they are lanky, shy and anti-social whites who are juxtaposed by black gangsters or women. The effect of such depiction is that it affects African Americans and women will be perceived when they enter the computer professions. In cases where minorities and women earn computer-related degrees, they do not get jobs in the fields after they graduate (Ciciora). The consequence of the nerd stereotype is that people who do not want to be viewed as anti-social might choose not to join some profession that fits the stereotype. Research has shown that there is a lower percentage of minorities and women who are employed in computer-related occupations than those who graduate in computer science (Ciciora). Therefore, the effect of such stereotypes is that it limits victims’ opportunities, narrows career choices and can create loss of diversity in professions.
Gender-based stereotypes continue to disadvantage women in that it results to decrease in performance in academics especially mathematics, and failure succeeds in male-dominated domains. In cases where these gender stereotypes are socialized from a young age, it affects how they make choices in life. Research by the National Science Foundation found that “the society not only tends to associate math and science with boys and men but also the notion of being brilliant and having raw brainpower” The effect of this is that only 30% of women are employed as engineers and scientists in the United States labor force. The assumption, therefore, is that girls and women are incapable of complex and demanding courses because as females, their brains are incapable of it. On the other hand, males tend to be forced to take these hard and complex subjects because they to fit in the social context of manliness and education. The effects of gender stereotypes in classroom are that it undermines girl-child achievement in areas that are treated as male-centered. Fixed mindsets among female students limit their academic achievements because it can either make them complacent about their abilities (math’s/sciences) or compel them to prove their abilities, instead of improving it.
One of the primary effects of gender stereotype on women is because it hampers their achievement in workplaces and hinders entrepreneurship ventures. Harmful stereotype threats can amplify the stereotypical feminine traits which lead lack of confidence, self-efficacy, and withdrawal from leadership positions (Latu & Marrianne 6). Research has shown that, in workplaces where stereotypes thrive, women non-only feel discouraged but also threatened, but their performance in their assigned duties suffers. Gender stereotypes are known to affect women’s cognition self-cognitions on leadership roles. In cases where women face stereotype threats, they are likely to underscore their female identities from their work-related identities (Latu & Marrianne 6). A woman who has been exposed to mass media depiction of women in traditional stereotypical roles is less likely to choose leadership or management roles. The effect of this stereotype threat is that it hampers women’s entrepreneurship ambitions and limits them to ever achieving their career ambitions (Latu & Marriane 7). In a nutshell, the effects of male-centered stereotypes on women’s self-cognition are adverse because they lead to women withdrawing from leadership and business ventures. Therefore, stereotypes lead to development of negative thoughts to the victim, and they use a lot of cognitive resources when trying to suppress them. The effect of this is that it leads to imperfect cognitive processes, failure to adequately utilize cognitive abilities, leading to reduced achievement.
Another common stereotype is that it causes racial profiling, which contributes to discrimination of the victims. This is in such a case where all members of the same target groups are profiled through false or incomplete generalization. For example, people of color in the united states are perceived to be criminals and violent. Staple writes that he was treated like a burglar in a jewelry store, another journalist was briefly arrested for being mistaken for the killer. The effect of this stereotype is it causes poor relations with the police, lead to unwarranted extrajudicial shooting, accusation of violence while exhibiting normal human behavior. The consequence of racial discrimination due to stereotypical bias is that it can result in the victim failing to be hired, mentored, trained or promoted in employment sectors. It can also lead to the victim being subjected to intense monitoring or supervision, severely punished for flimsy mistakes, or fail to get along with other coworkers.
To conclude, stereotypes are harmful to the victims in that it poisons their spirit and soul. Stereotypes adversely influence performances, career choices, work experiences and remuneration between genders. It also affects social interactions where favoritism and negative ethnicity thrives leading to mistrust, disrespect, discrimination and sometimes chaos. Therefore, the outcomes of those beliefs are adverse, and there is need to have intervention measures that will ensure that stereotypes eliminated from society through re-socialization and awareness.
Works cited
Adichie, Chimamanda. "Transcript Of "The Danger of a Single Story."" Ted.Com, 2019, https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en#t-1109997. Accessed 9 Oct 2019.
Ciciora Phil. “Geeks may be chic, but negative nerd stereotype still exists, professor says.” Illinois News Bureau, 2009, https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/206011.
Latu, Ioana, and Marianne Schmid Mast. "The effects of stereotypes of women’s performance in male-dominated hierarchies: stereotype threat activation and reduction through role models." Gender and Social Hierarchies. Routledge, 2015. 87-99.
National Science Foundation. "By Age 6, Gender Stereotypes Can Affect Girls' Choices". Nsf.Gov, 2019, https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=190924. Accessed 9 Oct 2019.
Newsweek Staff. "Fellow Nerds: Let's Celebrate Nerdiness!". Newsweek, 2000, https://www.newsweek.com/fellow-nerds-lets-celebrate-nerdiness-156089. Accessed 9 Oct 2019.
Stangor, Charles, Rajiv Jhangiani, and Hammond Tarry. "Principles of Social Psychology: 1st International Edition." ,2017.
Staples, Brent. "Just walk on by: Black men and public space." Retrieved March 15 (1986): 2012.
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