The role of social stereotypes in the management of personal behavior (Ending)

Thisarticlecompletes the series of articles“The role of socialstereotypesinmanagingpersonalitybehavior”. Itexamines in detailethnicstereotypes– a collective,emotionallycolored,generalizedandsimplifiedview of oneethnicgroupaboutitselforanotherethnicgroup,formedmainlyat the level of everydayconsciousness.Theethnicstereotype is based on biasesformedon the basis of limitedinformationaboutindividualrepresentativesofanethnic group,whichusuallygeneratesappropriategeneralizations that obscuretheirrealindividualqualities. The authoridentifiescommonfeaturesthat are characteristicnotonlyofethnicstereotypes,butalsoofallothertypes of stereotypes:orderliness,simplicityandunambiguity;conservatism, etc.However, ethnicstereotypes,morethantheirothertypes of socialstereotypes, are distinguished by their evaluative nature andbias,aswell as the stabilityandrelativestability of the informationcontainedinthem. An essentialfeature of ethnicstereotypesis the consistency and similarity of ideas of a sufficientlylargenumber of people in a certainsocialcommunity.

Thearticledescribes the mechanism of formationandconsolidation of ethnicstereotypes,theirstructureandfunctions.At the same time, it is emphasizedthat the mainfunction of ethnicstereotypesis the function of protectingethnicidentity,which is carried out byprotectingethnicborders,preferring fellow tribesmen to newcomers,basedonstrengthening a sense of solidaritywith“their own”andfeelings of hostilitytowards“others”. Inpractice, thisfunction is most oftenmulti-vector in nature. The authorexamines in detailtwotypes of ethnicstereotypes–autostereotypesandheterostereotypes,andidentifies the factors that determinetheirformationandinvariance,andconcludesthatethnicstereotypeshavebothpositiveandnegativeeffectsoninterculturalandinterethniccommunication.However, ingeneral, societyiswellawareof the existence of ethnicstereotypes,theirsometimesinitiallybiasednature, andhas a provenset of toolstoovercomethem.

According to the author, this cannot be attributed to one type of stereotypes that has relatively recently entered scientific circulation, accumulating deliberately false ideas about the effectiveness of those methods of treatment or, more often, health-saving tools that are actively being introduced into the public consciousness. This type of stereotypes, based on specific examples, is also discussed in detail in this article. The conclusion provides an algorithm for combating stereotypes that actually do little to help in understanding social reality, but more often cause significant harm to a person and society, explicitly or covertly participating in managing personal behavior, pushing people to make ill–considered decisions or inappropriate, and sometimes socially dangerous behavior.

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