The participants indicated that different descriptions of stereotypes exist, thereby providing an indication of multiple realities that exist amongst participants.
This is in line with social constructivism, in which individuals are inclined to attach different meanings to a certain phenomenon Mullins, Therefore, the perception an individual has about a certain phenomenon may be described as their reality and may differ from the next person's reality Mullins, This was also evident in the data, since individuals attached various terminologies to the description of stereotypes.
The following themes emerged when participants were requested to explain their understanding of stereotypes: assumptions, beliefs, categorisation, differences, discrimination, do not know the meaning of stereotypes, generalisation, ignorance, judgement, narrow-mindedness, nature of stereotypes, perception, preconceived ideas.
Sub-themes that emerged continuously throughout the themes included: accurate or inaccurate, assign characteristics, assign behaviour, based on characteristics, based on behaviour, based on ignorance, based on narrow-mindedness and based on physical attributes.
Various literature sources confirm the findings of this study. Colquitt, Lepine and Wesson elaborate by stating that stereotypes refer to assumptions that are made about individuals based on them belonging to a specific group. Participants of this study mentioned that stereotypes are based on behaviour, characteristics and physical attributes. McShane and Von Glinow confirm this by indicating that:. These characteristics that are allocated to these group members are often difficult to observe, such as personality attributes and capabilities; however, they can also encompass physical attributes.
Hilton and Von Hippel suggest that stereotypes are beliefs and views not only about the characteristics of persons, but also about the behaviours of members of certain groups.
A number of participants mentioned that stereotypes can be either positive or negative. Whitley and Kite agree with this and further state that stereotypes can disadvantage one group, but can simultaneously favour another. Furthermore, as mentioned above, a recurring theme that was mentioned by many participants is the view that stereotypes can be both accurate and inaccurate, which McShane and Von Glinow concur with. Crawford , together with Whitley and Kite , suggests that it is important to remember that, even if stereotypes hold a kernel of truth for an overall group, they may still be inaccurate when making judgements about individual members of that group.
Although stereotypes help individuals to cope with large amounts of information, the consequences of assigning inaccurate stereotypes are very negative. Inaccurate stereotyping can lead to bias and people not succeeding in really getting to know others who are different from them Mullins, Although the participants acknowledged that stereotypes can be inaccurate, the participants of this study still engage in the process of stereotyping.
Many participants also hold the view that stereotypes are based on people's own ignorance or narrow-mindedness. Instead of challenging or testing existing stereotypes, individuals view and examine new information in ways that confirm existent stereotypes Sampson, This may mean that, although participants are aware of their stereotypes not being true inaccurate therefore , they still continue to stereotype, because it is easier to do so and saves time, thereby reinforcing existent stereotypes.
The second objective of this study was to determine the origin of stereotypes as experienced by employees from selected South African organisations. When evaluating the origin of stereotypes in South African organisations, it was found that participants of the present study are indeed familiar with the factors that cause stereotypes. When participants were requested to explain the origins of stereotypes, the following themes emerged: human nature, individual differences, prejudice, primary exposure, secondary exposure and subjective perceptions.
Even though not all of the participants have had direct experiences with stereotypes, they were mindful of the fact that stereotypes also originate from indirect experiences. This can clearly be seen from the results, as most of the participants indicated that stereotypes originate from secondary exposure i.
Whitley and Kite confirm this by stating that external influences from sources such as peers, parents and the media contribute to the formation of stereotypes. Most of the participants indicated that stereotypes originate from sources other than the workplace.
Participants indicated that it is human nature to stereotype. Sampson agrees, saying that stereotyping is a natural part of being human. Individuals are bombarded with large amounts of information every day and by stereotyping others, they make it easier for themselves to deal with this information.
Within the work setting, individuals interact with many individuals on a daily basis, such as clients, colleagues and supervisors. By engaging in the natural phenomenon of stereotyping, individuals may restrict themselves from getting to know the people they interact with on a daily basis because they do not have the time to get to know each of these individuals on a more personal level.
Furthermore, participants indicated that stereotypes occur because of individual factors unique to each person.
Differences between people that were mentioned include jealousy, high self-concept and poor self-esteem. According to Crawford , people want to feel good about themselves and superior to others and therefore they stereotype. In an effort to heighten their self-esteem, they may stereotype their own group in-group more positively than other groups to which they do not belong out-groups ; consequently, they undervalue out-groups whilst simultaneously escalating the characteristics of their in-group Feldman, It seems that individuals may stereotype others in order to feel good about themselves; however, they do not consider that their stereotypes of others may have the opposite effect on the individuals being stereotyped.
Participants are also of the opinion that stereotypes originate from prejudice. Stereotyping prevents individuals from getting to know others better and leads to individuals maintaining prejudice and discrimination Sampson, Although stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination are closely related, one can occur without the others Plous, Plous provides an example by describing that when there are positive or neutral stereotypic beliefs about a racial group such as 'family orientated', this may not lead to prejudice or discrimination.
Therefore, when being stereotyped, individuals should not instantaneously view themselves as being prejudiced against; they should rather reflect on the nature of the stereotype given. Another finding of this study was the perception of participants that stereotypes occur because of primary exposure.
For the sake of this study, primary exposure refers to direct past experiences people have had with others belonging to a specific group, for instance a specific race group. Glassman and Hadad concur and state that stereotypes of a social nature are formed initially from specific experiences or from observing individuals from specific groups.
Participants also indicated that stereotypes originate from secondary exposure. Secondary exposure refers to stereotypes that are learned from various external sources such as parents, schools, culture, society, apartheid and so on, and also by observing different people. Relevant literature to support these findings does exist. According to Whitley and Kite , p. Cooke-Jackson and Hansen also found that although stereotyping may be inevitable, stereotypes become problematic when the media incorrectly portray stereotypes.
They further state that these stereotypes ignore the richness of the stereotyped group and can result in social inequality for the individuals involved. Individuals who stereotype others should therefore reflect on whether the stereotypes they have are indeed accurate or if it is just a product of being influenced by others. In addition to the above-mentioned, Durrheim and Talbot conducted a study amongst Durbanites who grew up in post-apartheid South Africa. The aim of the study was to investigate whether stereotypes about different race groups remained the same after the apartheid era.
To their surprise, the findings indicated that racial stereotypes have not changed much despite the historical changes that have taken place in South Africa, thereby suggesting that stereotypes are not fading in post-apartheid South Africa. The conclusion can therefore be drawn that the apartheid era certainly had and still has an influence on stereotypes, whether or not one was directly affected by it. Durrheim and Talbot and Durrheim, Mtose and Brown state that regardless of the economic, political and social changes that took place in post-apartheid South Africa, certain race groups are still underrepresented in social status hierarchies and in organisations.
The authors share this belief since during data collection it seemed that the workforce was still predominantly white. Durrheim and Talbot , p. The results of this study also showed that stereotypes occur because of individuals' own subjective perceptions. The perceptions individuals have of others are not necessarily factual and are based on their own subjective opinions of others. The reasons for these subjective perceptions may be people's own narrow-mindedness, lack of knowledge of others or simply the result of a time-saving mechanism.
Stereotypes are usually applied by people when they are busy and distracted, because stereotypes serve a mental shortcut function by aiding individuals to process large amounts of information with which they are confronted Dovidio et al. Plous concludes by suggesting that no matter what the origin of stereotypes, they are self-perpetuating. Individuals should therefore make an active effort to not stereotype others just because they do not have the time or energy to really get to know someone.
By doing this, individuals may realise that embracing the uniqueness of each individual can contribute to a better understanding of all people in the working environment.
By participating in this study, individuals may have become aware of the fact that their perceptions and opinions of others may be based on inaccurate information. As a consequence of their participation in this study, individuals may be encouraged to truly get to know someone first before relying on their possibly inaccurate stereotypes.
When individuals are aware of where their stereotypes originate from, they should actively attempt not to make use of their stereotypes when coming into contact with stereotyped groups. Organisations should educate their employees on the process of stereotyping and exactly what this means and where stereotypes originate from.
Limitations and recommendations. There are various limitations with regard to this particular study. The first limitation is with regard to the language that was used to conduct the interviews. It may be possible that some of the participants who completed the interview in their second language may have felt challenged when doing this.
This may have caused the participants not to be able to articulate themselves properly. It may also be possible that participants were uncomfortable with the use of tape recorders, thereby not fully disclosing their opinion as they were expected to. Participants did, however, give permission for interviews to be tape-recorded and the authors and fieldworkers did inform the participants that their identities would remain confidential.
The authors of this study explored what the origins of stereotypes are as experienced by employees within the broader South African work context.
Therefore, the authors did not ask participants to indicate where specific in-group or out-group stereotypes originate from. By doing this, the researchers only collected a broad view of where stereotypes come from, and were not able to indicate where specific stereotypes for example those based on race, gender and age come from.
It is suggested that future studies should focus on investigating the origins of specific stereotypes as experienced by individuals. By using the etic Nel et al. Stereotypes are automatic and can be activated without awareness; however, people can make a conscious effort to become aware of their automatic stereotyping by fighting against their natural inclination to make stereotypical judgements about others Crawford, Being less judgmental involves stopping stereotyping and making use of correct and accurate information when dealing with people.
By being open-minded, paying attention and making mindful decisions, stereotyping can be controlled. According to Whitley and Kite , inaccurate stereotypes need to be changed. When people are faced with evidence that is contradictory to the stereotypical view they have two choices: they can either change the stereotypic belief or they can find a manner in which to recategorise the persons who do not adhere to the stereotype.
Stereotyping others should especially be avoided when meeting someone for the first time. Although it is human nature to stereotype, the effects of stereotyping are usually to the detriment of someone else; therefore, it is necessary to identify the stereotypes one holds and the impact thereof on your perception of others Bergh, With regard to recommendations for future research, it is suggested that interviews should be conducted in participants' home language, by employing trained fieldworkers who are proficient in the home language of participants.
By doing this, the likelihood exists that participants will understand the line of questioning better, and will feel more comfortable when having the opportunity to answer questions in their home language. This may ensure that participants are given the opportunity to articulate or express themselves more adequately which may lead to more accurate findings. Furthermore, it is recommended that, instead of only making use of qualitative methods of collecting data, a quantitative approach should also be employed, thereby allowing for explanation of the findings as gathered from the qualitative analysis.
Although the meaning and origin of stereotypes were explored amongst employees from selected South African organisations in order to collect an overall broad view of stereotypes, it may also be interesting to assess how different race, gender, age and occupational groups understand stereotypes and how they originate from their specific viewpoints.
To conclude, it seems that people employed in selected South African organisations are familiar with stereotypes and have a clear understanding of the concept. Although participants provided different descriptions of the term, as can be confirmed by relevant stereotype literature, there seems to be a consensus amongst participants of this study of what exactly the process of stereotyping entails.
Individuals who had partaken in this study also have a conscious awareness of the origin of stereotypes. Although not all of the participants have had direct experiences with stereotyped groups, they are well aware that stereotypes also originate from indirect sources. Although only employees formed part of this study, it is evident that the origins of stereotypes were described by participants in more general terms and not specifically relating to the workplace.
In other words, the origins of stereotypes can be contributed to sources that are not specifically found in the workplace context only six participants mentioned that their stereotyping originated from their workplace ; therefore, stereotypes stemming from other origins can be transferred to the workplace. The conclusion can also be drawn that, although individuals are aware of their stereotypic tendencies and nature, they still continue to stereotype others, irrespective of whether these stereotypes are factual or not.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. North-West University conducted the data analysis, conducted the final integration of the data and wrote the introduction, literature review, research design, findings, discussion and conclusion.
She sent the final draft for language editing and made corrections based on recommendations of language editor. North-West University shortened the article for publication purposes, reviewed the data analysis, provided feedback on the final integration of data and provided feedback on the final copy of the manuscript.
Adhikari, M. South African Historical Journal, 55 1 , The nature of prejudice. Arnold, J. Work psychology: Understanding human behaviour in the workplace. Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited. Barkley, L. Social learning theory: A framework for discrimination research. Academy of Management Review, 7 4 , Development of social categories and stereotypes in early childhood: The case of the "The Arab" concept formation, stereotype and attitudes by Jewish children in Israel.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 20 3 , Sensory and perceptual processes in work behaviour. Bergh Ed. Bergh, Z. Psychology in the work context. Botma, Y. Research in health sciences. Braun, V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, Organizational behaviour: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace. Cooke-Jackson, A. Appalachian culture and reality TV: The ethical dilemma of stereotyping others.
Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 23 3 , Transformations: Women, gender and psychology. Creswell, J. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. De Vos, A. Research at grass roots: For the social sciences and human service professions. Dovidio, J. Prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination: Theoretical and empirical overview.
Dovidio, M. Hewstone, P. Esses Eds. Race trouble: Race, identity and inequality in post-apartheid South Africa. Durrheim, K. The Princeton trilogy revisited: How have racial stereotypes changed in South Africa?
South African Journal of Psychology, 42 4 , Putting design into practice: Writing and evaluating research proposals. Durrheim Eds. Feldman, R. Understanding psychology. Gibson, J. Organizations: Behavior, structure, processes.
Gilbert, D. The trouble of thinking activation and application of stereotypic beliefs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60 4 , Approaches to psychology. Hansen, J. Thoughts on knowing: Epistemic implications of counselling practice. Annual Review of Psychology, 47 1 , L [ Links ] Holtzhausen, T. The portrayal of women in South African television commercials. Southern African Business Review, 15 3 , Additionally, stereotypes are neither fixed, nor rigid, Eagly and Koenig find.
In another experiment, they informed study participants that, for example, more white males would become nurses in the next 25—30 years, and then asked how they would be perceived. The participants changed their stereotypes of the group of white males to reflect these new roles.
In other words, if enough members of a stereotyped group manage to break into new fields—whether men into nursing or women into math and science—prevailing stereotypes about them would likely change. Of course, to break into new fields, members of stereotyped groups have to get hired in them.
That is where policy interventions should begin, Eagly argues. Our Community Discover how we support creation and dissemination of interdisciplinary research. Quantitative Methods for Policy Research Improving research methods to advance policy and practice. Education Policy Analyzing critical issues to improve learning and outcomes. But why? Where do they come from? What gives them their power to shape our thoughts and feelings about other people?
Melinda Jones identified four different origins of stereotypes. We think in terms of the categories we create from our experiences. Those categories clarify the world for us, but they also over-simplify it. At some point, those natural over-simplifications cross the line into stereotypes. Simply knowing about social groups can lead us to stereotype their members because we assume there must be something important that led to their common classification in the first place, something that makes them essentially alike.
We see close up the individual differences among members of our own social groups, but those in other social groups blur together in the distance into a homogeneous whole, everyone a minor variation on the same basic theme. They tried adding new counter-stereotype information. They told people that over the years the members of the groups changed significantly. They even told one group that they got the names mixed up, and that everything people thought they knew about the groups was completely backward.
To no avail. The original views of the two groups persisted. The things we hear create stereotypes: What we learn from other people and the broader society. We also pick up stereotypes from the world around us. We hear stereotypical talk, or see see stereotypical images. Family, friends, school, work, church, the media, etc.
Of course, we can learn from people whether they say anything or not.
0コメント