Blackwell Reference Online

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Stereotypes are typically conceived of as cognitive categorizations of people into groups that are accompanied by descriptors of group members (→  stereotypes ). Early discussions of stereotypes referenced them as “pictures” of groups or “types” of people ( Lippmann 1922/1965 ). According to researchers, many attributes are used as a basis of stereotype-based categorization, including race, sex, age, class, religion, and body type (see, e.g., Schneider 2004 ). Stereotypes provide cognitive benefits, much like other schemas ( Fiske & Taylor 1984 ). As a form of categorization, for example, stereotypes function as energy-saving devices ( Macrae et al. 1994 ) and cognitive tools ( Gilbert & Hixon 1991 ) that preserve →  information-processing resources, because they allow people to “chunk” information into familiar and, therefore, meaningful units ( Hamilton & Sherman 1994 ). Although valuable because of their cognitive efficiency, stereotypes become detrimental when they have undesirable consequences for those who use the stereotypes or for members of the groups they target. These consequences may occur when stereotypes provide an inaccurate or false basis for judgment or when they lead to unwarranted prejudice and discrimination. Stereotypes facilitate prejudice when they foster “an avertive or hostile attitude toward a person who belongs to a group, simply because ... log in or subscribe to read full text