• Question: why do we form stereo typical images in are brain with words like ;smart ans sporty

    Asked by to Mathew, Ian on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Ian Stephenson

      Ian Stephenson answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      There’s an old joke:
      “Why do people take an instant dislike to me?”
      “It saves time”.

      Stereotypes are a quick and easy way to put together a quick picture of people based on incomplete information. Political correctness tells us they’re universally bad, but they’re usually based on some kind of truth.

      For example look at the pictures of 5 scientists at the top of this picture. If I told you one was a theoretical physicist, one a biologist, and one a computer programmer on movies could you pick them out without any more information?

      It’s totally “inappropriate” to suggest that you could guess that information based on just pictures, but I recon most people would get it right.

      Here’s a stereotype: Boys like football. Guess what – its kind of true. More accurately on average if (for example) you had 100 boys and 100 girls, more of the boys would like football than the girls. There’s nothing wrong with that.

      It’s also true that people who are into science and maths are less likely to be into sport than some other people, and people who are really into sport are probably less info physics.

      HOWEVER stereotypes are a problem when we can’t see past them. I’m a boy, and I’m not into football that much. There are plenty of girls who like watching (and are better at playing) football more than me.

      The kid who is captain of the school football team, might also love science. One of the smartest people I know loves to run triathlons. Stereotypes tell us about groups of people, they don’t tell us about individuals.

      Girls are more likely to study biology than physics. That’s OK, provided they’re doing it cause they really like biology, and not because they were pressured into it. On the other hand I know some women who are great physicists.

      They’re also sometimes completely untrue, but that’s another issue. Just recognise when you’re using them, don’t be limited by them, and update your opinions when you get more information.

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