Stereotypes are mental shortcuts that we create to help us organize our interactions. We really only have the mental resources to seriously interact with a limited number of people and so we form strategies to help us decide how best to direct those resources. The problem with stereotypes is that while they may provide some accuracy in forming impressions, our vulnerability to create false positives or embrace surface impressions without learning the whole story can lead us astray. So it's useful for organizing our lives but not always fair to the person being stereotyped.
For example, I am a liberal and fit many of the liberal stereotypes. But that doesn't mean that's all there is to me, or that it's impossible for me to have fruitful interactions with a more conservative individual. But many conservatives will see how I fit liberal stereotypes and dismiss me, and I'm prone to do the same in return. It narrows both our perspectives to create an unhealthy bubble.
Stereotypes are mental shortcuts that we create to help us organize our interactions. We really only have the mental resources to seriously interact with a limited number of people and so we form strategies to help us decide how best to direct those resources. The problem with stereotypes is that while they may provide some accuracy in forming impressions, our vulnerability to create false positives or embrace surface impressions without learning the whole story can lead us astray. So it's useful for organizing our lives but not always fair to the person being stereotyped.
For example, I am a liberal and fit many of the liberal stereotypes. But that doesn't mean that's all there is to me, or that it's impossible for me to have fruitful interactions with a more conservative individual. But many conservatives will see how I fit liberal stereotypes and dismiss me, and I'm prone to do the same in return. It narrows both our perspectives to create an unhealthy bubble.