Race and Ethnicity Essay

One benefit of stereotypes to those being stereotyped is that the stereotype itself may be positive. Of course, this can backfire if you benefit from a stereotype of a group in which you fit and it becomes clear that the stereotype does not apply to you. Nonetheless, certain stereotypes can help a person land a job, build a good reputation or even find love. Stereotypes’ are the human’s way of quickly categorizing people in order to avoid danger in the world. It’s a very basic knack of the human brain and has been around for as long as there have been people. That is the only positive effect of them.( http://www.life123.com/parenting/education/social-studies/positive-aspects-stereotypes.shtml). What are the negative aspects of stereotypes? From my limited experience, I would have to say the biggest negative effect of stereotyping in the closing of the mind. People say that minds are like parachutes; they work best when open. Stereotyping provides a view which may be based on some truths or facts, but is often limited and biased. Other non-critical thinkers can be seduced by stereotypes which simplifies the world. In the heat of the moment, stereotypes lend themselves to mob rule when emotions run high and reason seems to be on holiday. In some cases the emotions give way to fear, and fear is a very poor substance for leadership. Part III Answer each question in 50 to 150 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Define stereotypes and prejudice. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the differences. Stereotyping- A fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people Prejudice- Prejudgment or attitude toward another group. Using the 3 categories I chose, you would place all the individual races such as the Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans into separate groups. These would be broken down and classified as stereotyped classifications. Then you could also break them down by Race, Sexual Orientation, and religion and this would also be classified as stereotyped. Prejudice in my opinion is about the same thing because you are comparing the three to one another after you have separated them from one another. What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice? Sterotype is something that is assumed that you do like girls like shopping and boys like sports. Prejudice is when you are racist or favor another person over another because of either ethinic racism, or you just don’t like how they look. Like some people are prejudice against black people and hispanics because of what they look like and their religious/ ethinc beliefs. What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring? One thing you can do to help prejudice from occurring is look at the situation. Be mindful of everyone around you and mindful of others feelings. Know that everyone is different and that it is ok to be different. Know where you come from and your heritage so that you cannot judge others like you.