My Definition of Stereotype...

The quote from Lippman’s book that I think best describes the definition of a stereotype is on page 57 of the book Public Opinion. “Our stereotyped world is not necessarily the world we should like it to be, it is simply the kind of world we expect it to be.” I think that this means that stereotypes are the result of our need to selectively perceive our environment. They help us to understand and structure the complex world around us. To me it seems as though stereotypes are also dictated by the things that we are seen, told, or experience in our daily lives. Most of us look at a certain type of person and because of the way we were brought up by our parents or by other things that have been told about that certain type of person, we automatically look at that person and a stereotype comes to mind. Stereotypes, I feel can be either a negative or positive, because they are generalized views of a person or thing. For example, most people have stereotypical views of athletes. While some people may think that athletes are really strong leaders and probably dedicated people because of their sport, others may think negatively of an athlete such as a meathead or being too ‘manly’. People's views about people and things can differ drastically depending on what it is that they see as a stereotype.