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Real_Trouble -> RE: Exagerated stereotypes? (3/14/2008 4:26:28 PM)
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Of course there are stereotypes here; humans in any culture / subculture / group / subgroup use them. They are an excellent cognitive shortcut if you desire to be right only some of the time and are intellectually lazy.
Reality dictates, regardless of how we feel about it, that genuinely evaluating each person as an individual takes a lot of effort. More to the point, sometimes it is effort that can, in some cases, be better fit with a stereotype. For instance, I hold the stereotype that most MIT, Oxford, and Harvard graduates are probably relatively intelligent; this has served me well so far.
However, the problem arises when the stereotype either becomes a basis for behavior when it is not very close to perfectly accurate, or when people refuse to change them in the fact of contradictory evidence. More so, it becomes very difficult for them to deal with people who do not conform to the stereotypes they hold in their head, and this produces a significant amount of cognitive dissonance and wacky behavior as a result.
My view is that you observe them, understand them, try to realize how a social situation is conformed, and then use that knowledge to exploit the weak points to your benefit. At no point do I worry about either conforming or non-conforming myself; I am who I am, and while I certainly question and constantly work to better myself, I'm not about to change just for the sake of conforming to a stereotype or making someone else happy.
But in short, yes, of course there are overdone stereotypes here. Humans are involved! Just learn how to use that to your advantage, because it's not about to change.
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