Stereotype

In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people, an expectation a perceiver applies to every member of a group regarding traits such as personality, preferences, appearance or ability. Stereotypes make information processing easier by letting a perceiver rely on previously stored knowledge instead of incoming information about the specific individual in front of them, but this same shortcut makes stereotypes often faulty and resistant to correction by new information. Research on the accuracy of stereotypes has produced mixed findings: studies of national-origin and astrological-sign stereotypes found them inaccurate, while studies of gender stereotypes found them more likely to reflect real group differences. Stereotypes generally carry negative implications, though they can also be positive or neutral, and psychologists distinguish explicit stereotypes, held consciously, from implicit stereotypes, which operate below conscious awareness.