Free Essays on Stereotypes

From the articles I have read, they make it seem like the only good basketball players are black basketball player. But that’s not true because what about the basketball players from other countries like Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Toni Kukoc, and that is just to name a few. But you never hear about the stereo types of these people. You think it was easy for them. No, I don’t know too much about the other ones, but I know it wasn’t no cake walk for Yao Ming. I know he had to fight the whole country to get where he’s at but you never hear about these people or what about Larry Bird he came from a small country town, but you never here about there people. All you hear about is the negative image of black people and sports. But how can you have these stereo types to black people because of a few bad seeds? I think that’s wrong; for example, how in the book the last shot; the author say the basketball player fail to achieve humble scores on sat’s or that one of the player became homeless because he chose to play basketball or one man, tried to committee suicide because he could not play basketball any more. I think it’s wrong to exploit people like this. How do you know it wasn’t money problem or family problems? It’s very hard to get a good job no matter where you get your education from. Don’t get me wrong, yes some of what is written is true, and some isn’t true. Some black people use basketball as a way out of the ghetto, but the other half turns to basketball because that’s all they know. Those who use basketball to get out of the ghetto are the ones who make it; they see basketball as a light. Because being raised around crime all your life, you have to find some way to forget all the bad things that’s happening around you. It’s not all about having fun. Think about it basketball has it’s own way of bring black people together for one common goal to rout for his or her team when they could be on the corner... Free Essays on Stereotypes Free Essays on Stereotypes What are stereotypes? The working definition: A stereotype is a positive or negative set of beliefs held by an individual about the characteristics of a group of people. It varies in its accuracy, the extent to which it captures the degree to which the stereotyped group members possess these traits, and the extent to which the set of beliefs is shared by others. Stereotypes include or are formed by the suspicions, or expectancies we have about others, and these in turn shape what we perceive and influence our behavior toward a person. Jussim, McCauley and Lee (1995) propose that stereotypes may be conceived along two independent dimensions; accuracy (accurate vs. inaccurate) and valence (positive vs. negative). They suggest that negative stereotypes can be accurate (blacks are poorer than whites), positive stereotypes can be inaccurate (beautiful people are not better) and they can be accurate (people who make more money do tend to have higher IQs). Also, Jussim, McCauley, and Lee (1995) list the many problems stereotyping can cause in social perception and judgment : - Stereotypes are factually incorrect. - Stereotypes are illogical in origin. - Stereotypes are based on prejudice. - Those who hold stereotypes are irrationally resistant to new information. - Stereotypes exaggerate group differences. - Stereotypes are ethnocentric. - Stereotypes imply genetic origins of group differences. - Stereotypes underestimate out-group variability. - Stereotypes lead people to ignore individual differences. - Stereotypes lead to biased perceptions of individuals. - Stereotypes create self-fulfilling prophecies. Stereotypes as Individual or Consensus Beliefs – Ashmore and Del Boca (1981) describe three approaches to studying and understanding stereotypes: Cognitive approach – Stereotype simply viewed as a cognitive representation of social information about people and groups of people. Psych... Free Essays on Stereotypes Stereotypes Discrimination is seen in our minds as images that show a specific feature or trait about one group. These are prejudgments or stereotypes W.T. Lhamon Jr say that: "People simplify the intellectual images they maintain of specific ethnic groups, including their own, often in cruel or damaging ways. Poor white Southerners ("Crackers") are said to be slow, red-necked, and fat. Immigrant Italians ("Wops") are said to be short, oily, and hot-tempered. Upper-class whites ("WASPs") are said to be greedy, emotionally cold, and haughty. Negroes ("Niggers") are said to be stupid, promiscuous, and happy. These generalizations are not accurate, but they are spread widely - not only by word of mouth but also through images in television, movies, newspapers, music, comic books, talk shows, pseudo-scientific research, and even textbooks," (Lhamon Jr. 1) There are many reasons why individuals become prejudice. This could be how that individual was raised or something that they have seen or experienced during their lifetime. These stereotypes are based on what others tell us coming from families, teachers, friends, and the media. Prejudice is something that we experience in our everyday life through stereotypes. These stereotypes seem harmless but eventually lead to discrimination. Unfortunately, people feel stereotypes in the workplace, at school, and in our everyday society. These prejudices come about in many ways, one of which is through family life. The parents have their own beliefs and consequently the children eventually feel the same way because they do not know differently. In Flannery O’Connor’s short story â€Å"Everything That Rises Must Converge,† you see how because Julian’s mother had grown up in a society that thought they were better then blacks and she thought that she was better then blacks (247). The parent’s influence is one of the largest components that lead to prejudice in our society. This infl... Free Essays on Stereotypes From the articles I have read, they make it seem like the only good basketball players are black basketball player. But that’s not true because what about the basketball players from other countries like Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Toni Kukoc, and that is just to name a few. But you never hear about the stereo types of these people. You think it was easy for them. No, I don’t know too much about the other ones, but I know it wasn’t no cake walk for Yao Ming. I know he had to fight the whole country to get where he’s at but you never hear about these people or what about Larry Bird he came from a small country town, but you never here about there people. All you hear about is the negative image of black people and sports. But how can you have these stereo types to black people because of a few bad seeds? I think that’s wrong; for example, how in the book the last shot; the author say the basketball player fail to achieve humble scores on sat’s or that one of the player became homeless because he chose to play basketball or one man, tried to committee suicide because he could not play basketball any more. I think it’s wrong to exploit people like this. How do you know it wasn’t money problem or family problems? It’s very hard to get a good job no matter where you get your education from. Don’t get me wrong, yes some of what is written is true, and some isn’t true. Some black people use basketball as a way out of the ghetto, but the other half turns to basketball because that’s all they know. Those who use basketball to get out of the ghetto are the ones who make it; they see basketball as a light. Because being raised around crime all your life, you have to find some way to forget all the bad things that’s happening around you. It’s not all about having fun. Think about it basketball has it’s own way of bring black people together for one common goal to rout for his or her team when they could be on the corner...