In general humans have a tendency to make haste decisions or form opinions based on the demographic, appearance, past actions etc. of a person. These behaviours are formed from childhood based on our experiences growing up, and social stigmas which have been passed down generations [1]. For example, people with tattoos and piercings are often associated with negative stigmas. I don’t understand this because everybody should have the freedom to express themselves in anyway they want. The same applies to judgments when it comes to clothing and style.
Our generalization of certain people also stems from our instinct to be protective of our self and others [2]. For instance, normally a person with a criminal past wouldn’t easily be given a second chance [2].
Another type of generalization that people make is forming an expectation based on previous experiences [3]. For example, a teacher who has a negative experience with a student might expect the same from their sibling, if they land up teaching them. Another popular tendency that is similar is when people assume all east asians get good grades [2].
In my opinion we need to start being more open minded rather than judging or forming rapid assumptions about people because of who they are, where they come from and their demographic.
Sources:
Hey Saachi!
Sweet read on your inquiry question! I like that you started off with the fact that the majority of these stigmas and even pressures from society are for the most part, taught throughout generations. This continual passage is what makes it difficult for us to push forward and create non-general perspectives and diverse world views. I would suggest trying to find some examples in the news today; there are tons that may be able to help you 🙂
This resource actually compares and contrasts our current-day news sources, feel free to check it out!:
https://towardsdatascience.com/how-statistically-biased-is-our-news-f28f0fab3cb3
Warm Regards,
Galicia
Hey Saachi!
I think that this is a very important question and one that we need to ask ourselves more often, especially considering the human rights movements that are happening recently. Everyone has a subconscious bias but why do they exist? Why do we immediately register certain characters about a person based on the colour of their skin or the way they talk or look?
For your future posts, are you planning to look at the scientific side of people and their generalization or are you planning to analyze more of society’s effect on this process?
Here are some sources that might help:
https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms201786
This one talks about the effect of generalization and labels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRgTfmx5k4c
Great start, I’m looking forward to reading your future posts!
Rasee
Hey Saachi!
I love how your research is so informative and short! Makes it so much easier to read and understand. Stigmas and pressure from society being passed down from generation to generation sucks. Your topic is very in testing and i’d definitely be interested in reading more. Good luck!!
https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2012/05/understanding-generalizations-and-stereotypes.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1489832/
xx
ronnie