PSYC12H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: In-Group Favoritism, Group Dynamics, Stereotype Threat
Document Summary
2 origin and maintenance of stereotypes & prejudice. Stereotyping was once regarded as a sign of the moral deficiency of the stereotyper, or even as an indicator of repressed unconscious hostility. The human brain seems to almost automatically classify or categorize similar objects in the environment: this tendency has been shown in children as young as 6-months old. Stereotypes were no longer regarded as the product of lazy thinking by the uneducated or those with moral deficiencies rather, researchers took allport"s lead and now regard stereotypes as a natural consequence of cognition. When we encounter a person, we tend to automatically assess that person on the basis of our perception of that person"s features. Humans have a limited-capacity cognitive system that cannot simultaneously process all the available information in our social environment. Because we have a need to understand and anticipate the behaviour of others, humans behave developed ways around our limited cognitive system.
