The Science of Stereotypes
You stereotype without realising. This is how to stop.
We’re all familiar with some form of stereotyping, ranging from the librarian wearing glasses and ugly tweed to the man who loves sport and sneers at shopping. What you may not know is that many evolutionary psychologists believe that stereotypes originated as a way of processing data faster by playing into the brain’s innate desire to categorise everything, fitting all information into neat little boxes. This allowed early humans to determine threats through a “better safe than sorry” principle, as well as leaving space to focus their mental energy on other tasks such as finding food. In modern society, however, it is a clear maladaptive response that divides people on ranging from a superficial to outright incorrect and offensive basis. Everyone is being encouraged to examine their own internal biases to become more socially aware, with the aim of creating a world free from prejudice, but how easy is it really to fight against an evolutionary instinct?
The answer is, not very. In fact, studies show that many people are entirely unaware of their own stereotyping, only realising when directly challenged on it. The reason for this may well be explained by the DRM Paradigm. This model comes from a study on memory by Deese, Roediger, and McDermott, which showed how easily false memories could be created. Participants in the study were read a list of semantically related words (e.g. bed, nap, pillow, rest, tired), and later asked to recall them. When asked about an unmentioned “lure word” (in this example, it could be “sleep”), the majority of participants remembered hearing it, thus showing that a false memory had been implanted. This alone may not mean much for prejudices, but several subsequent studies have used this principle to study gender biases and found that participants falsely recalled stereotype-based words when the lure word was either “male” or “female”, thus revealing that many people
associate descriptions and actions that are gender-neutral with either femininity or masculinity without ever realising.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we should all give up. Quite the opposite, in fact. If a kind and compassionate society is what separates humans from beasts, then we have all the more responsibility to evolve and grow with the world we create, because we all have some internal bias. And that can only be achieved through our own hard work. Well, maybe not only, there is some evidence that you can recondition yourself by surrounding yourself with positive influences, but there is a far simpler and more effective solution — education. The process is lengthy, lifelong if you do it right because no matter how much you think you know, there is always something you don’t.
That can seem quite daunting, so here are some tips. First and foremost, self-reflection is key to this process. In order to challenge your prejudices, you need to know what they are, so really think to yourself: “What do I associate with that? Where does that association come from? Why do I think that?” By rationalising your instinctive responses, you can learn what influences you and decide whether you want to continue responding the way you do. Chances are, you’ll have to face some difficult truths and have some uncomfortable conversations with yourself along the way but stick with it and you’ll come out the other side secure in the knowledge that your beliefs are your own and your opinions are based on fact, not mere suggestion. Because it can be something small, something you barely register as having influenced you, behind your opinions; perhaps the shopping-hating man from earlier comes from a sitcom trope, the mousy librarian from newspaper comic panels. Admittedly, these are fairly minor stereotypes, but the principle remains even with more serious biases. Small things, throwaway comments, add up quickly, to create a certain stereotype in your mind that then combines with other stereotypes, and before you know it, you’ve formed an opinion. It isn’t your fault, we’ve already established that human brains are wired that way, but it is your responsibility to address it once you’ve found it. There are several ways to do this, but research by Walsh suggests that critical thinking and empathy are key to understanding and reducing subconscious stereotyping. This could take the form of the IMPLICIT system that gives you a structured set of steps to challenge your beliefs, or through taking a Project Implicit Test, a study devised by Harvard University, which shows you exactly where your biases lie so that you know what it is that you need to work on.
With so much scientific evidence to support you through it, there’s really no excuse not to work on your subconscious biases. Take control of your mind, be the master of your own evolution, and walk into the future with an open heart.
References:
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