Title: Stereotypes | Simply Psychology
Headings: Stereotypes
Stereotypes
Racial Stereotypes
Katz and Braly (1933) – Racial Stereotyping
Research Evaluation
Stereotype Threat
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Content: Negative stereotypes seem far more common, however. Racial Stereotypes
Racial Stereotypes
Researchers have found that stereotypes exist of different races, cultures or ethnic groups. Although the terms race, culture and ethnic groups have different meanings, we shall take them to mean roughly the same thing at the moment. The most famous study of racial stereotyping was published by Katz and Braly in 1933 when they reported the results of a questionnaire completed by students at Princeton University in the USA. They found that students held clear, negative stereotypes – few students expressed any difficulty in responding to the questionnaire. Most students at that time would have been white Americans and the pictures of other ethnic groups included Jews as shrewd and mercenary, Japanese as shrewd and sly, Negroes as lazy and happy-go-lucky and Americans as industrious and intelligent. Not surprisingly, racial stereotypes always seem to favor the race of the holder and belittle other races. It is probably true to say that every ethnic group has racial stereotypes of other groups. Some psychologists argue that it is a “natural” aspect of human behavior, which can be seen to benefit each group because it helps in the long-run to identify with one’s own ethnic group and so find protection and promote the safety and success of the group. There is no evidence for this view, however, and many writers argue that it is merely a way of justifying racist attitudes and behaviors.