Defining Stereotype

A stereotype is a mental representation of a person which emphasises their group membership rather than individual characteristics. They are the consequence of cognitive processes which lead us to make overgeneralisations. This relates to schema theory, which suggests that we interpret new information in the light of our previous knowledge and experience. Stereotypes tend to be largely automatic, i.e. working below the level of conscious awareness, and may be instantly activated by physical characteristics, e.g. a skinhead may have assumed to be aggressive

Stereotypes tend to be self-confirming; we pick out information about a person which conforms to our stereotype, and not which challenges it, e.g. the Darley & Gross Hannah study found that participants who saw a video in which Hannah was portrayed as having high socioeconomic status judged her to have higher academic ability than those who saw a "low socioeconomic status" video. Information about academic ability was interpreted according to expectations based on socioeconomic stereotypes.

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