How stereotypes affect perception

During communication, conversation partners interact and respond to each other’s remarks. The effectiveness of verbal interaction, including online communication, increases when there is an understanding of the other person’s emotions, feelings, motivation, and needs. Subjective opinions are formed based on speech, appearance, actions, and comparisons to an internal standard.

The mechanism of social stereotypes

A stereotype is a simplified perception of reality, characterized by:

• schematization
• standardization
• stability
• simplification
• strong emotional coloring

Stereotypes often arise during interactions between people from different social groups. For example, lawyers are often considered meticulous, teachers are perceived as strict, and there is a widespread belief that all English people are polite, the French are romantic, and Russians are mysterious.

How reality becomes distorted

When perceiving a conversation partner, people unconsciously compare them to an internalized standard. This process is activated by identifying certain similarities. At the same time, individuals attribute a set of characteristics typically associated with a particular social group, ethnicity, or nationality.

Errors in judgment

Unconscious and uncontrolled generalizations lead to misjudgments.

1. Projection effect – A person attributes their own qualities to others. If someone is pleasant to talk to, they are assumed to possess all the positive traits that the observer sees in themselves. Conversely, an unpleasant person is assigned all negative qualities.
2. Average error effect – Subjective softening of characteristics, leading to an underestimation of a person’s uniqueness by placing them into a general category.
3. Order effect – Intuitive trust in the first information received or the latest news about a person.
4. Halo effect – A stable perception of a person based on a single outstanding action, whether positive or negative.
5. Stereotyping effect – Attributing the traits of a widely accepted image to all members of a particular social group.

Broadening one’s perspective and paying close attention to the conversation partner help prevent the negative impact of stereotypes.

Assumptions and overthinking

When forming an impression of something unknown, people often rely on assumptions, similar to excessive sensitivity or suspicion. This occurs when an individual expects a specific reaction or judgment from someone based on their words or actions.

Assumption-based thinking involves:

1. Drawing conclusions about a person based on insufficient information, using commonly known stereotypes about their profession, creative background, nationality, or ethnicity.
2. Filling in knowledge gaps by unconsciously comparing an unfamiliar person to an established standard.

Interactive online communication expands the possibilities of social interaction. The interface of platforms like wedaf.com simplifies conversations with old friends and helps find new ones, reducing the likelihood of mistaken impressions about conversation partners.

Energy efficiency in perception

The brain collects data for analysis through perception. Evaluating every element, forming a general conclusion, and determining an appropriate response requires significant mental energy.

Stereotypical thinking reduces these cognitive energy costs. Psychologists recognize this as a positive aspect of stereotyping.

Faster reactions

Stereotypes also allow for quicker social responses. For instance, politeness is often perceived as a general rule, helping people establish contact efficiently. However, sometimes a friendly greeting receives no response. This occurs due to the psychological influence of stereotypes on communication patterns.

For example, the idea that one must wish all friends a happy New Year may result in sending the same generic message to everyone. However, not all recipients will react positively, as they may perceive it as impersonal or lacking sincerity.

Stereotypes in communication

In human consciousness, two main processes form stereotypes: specificity and simplification. These create common assumptions about appropriate behavior during conversations:

• assumptions about topics (what is acceptable to discuss and what is off-limits)
• determining appropriate timing (free time, evening, daytime)
• treating a chatroom as a public space, requiring corresponding behavior

Stereotypical thinking can distort perceptions, leading to misunderstandings during conversations. The “autopilot” mode of perception follows a rigid response pattern, limiting flexibility and hindering the dynamic development of communication.