I view it as a general trend. I am American and totally agree with the stereotype that Americans are not culturally aware, even though I consider myself culturally aware. This is because history, geography and other cultures are things I enjoy learning, but my feelings and interests are not widely shared among my peers. Even my sister I would consider not very culturally aware. I once asked her to name countries other than America that have red white and blue flags. She completely blanked. The UK, France, Russia, and the Netherlands are the first to come to mind for me.
I need to be aware of any stereotypes programmed in my brain before I interact with someone so that I can accept them as they are and only categorize when such stereotypes emerge
Thinking 'civilization' alone has made us evolve beyond the need for stereotypes, or discarding stereotypes in general because they never show the 'complete picture' is peak human arrogance at work. Be aware of the fact that they are very general tendencies which certainly don't apply to everyone in a given category equally (if at all), but don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
The thing about cliches is some are true, but are never true about everyone. Americans are materialistic, but we can say such things knowing we might know Americans in our lives who are not. it doesn't mean it isn't generally true for most Americans at the time of speaking.
When I was in Paris a number of years ago I was surprised at how helpful people were to me in helping with directions, etc. even though I do not speak French.
I have a question for the people who think stereotypes are okay, like do you think it's fair that someone has a negative perception of you personally because you belong to a particular group?
@@sprouts life is certainly not fair and it is an impossibility for it to ever be thus. As outlined in your video, the stereotype process is one builtin as part of our species's survival strategy. Therefore this isn't a matter of right and wrong. Typically stereotypes come from one of two places, common practices, habits and trait OR propaganda. I find it best to simply examine the source of the stereotype to determine it's potential level of accuracy. Example: PROPAGANDA: ""Jews are greedy"" is leftover Nazi propaganda and has no basis in reality as stats clearly show the Jewish people give more to charity in the US annually than any other two groups combined. COMMON PRACTICE: French people shower less in their culture than many others and therefore gained the reputation (or stereotype) of not smelling good to those from other cultures. TRAIT: Blacks have generally strong genetics regarding the physical. They often are tall and muscular and therefore are seen to be best in sport. This is in fact typically the case and therefore has become a stereotype. This doesn't mean no Jews are greedy and that no French people smell good and it's not to say some blacks aren't terrible at sport - it's simply a generalization that is mostly true or a lie that was sold to the public. Again, best to see the source first. I honestly think those who focus on these types of things are generally delusional to a degree in the sense they think things can exist as they do in dreamland. That would certainly be wonderful, but it isn't reality therefore I see no reason to dedicate much time to the topic. Though I did very much enjoy your video and enjoy the discussion as well. In case you can't tell, I'm autistic, this lengthy explanation of my thought process is extremely common amongst Nerodivergents such as myself. Certainly a stereotype of sorts... it is what it is, there's no good or bad in it.
Stereotypes are not ALWAYS true but they are frequently true. That is the point of them. You should always try to judge people as individuals but you do not always have time for that.
@@sterlingarcher1962 Really!? A question for answer? A positive outlook is nice, if I meet someone who says they like people from my country it'll make my day. Is it fair? Well not really if I didn't actively contribute.
A large swath of east Asian people lack an enzyme to digest alcohol. It's the reason why many cultures are not heavy into drinking like European cultures or south American culture. You see tea being more prominent.
I find most French people in France friendly if you truly try to communicate in French. The stereotype of rudeness comes from being a foreigner and being rude in assuming the culture will bend to your needs as an outsider. They are just putting up with our rudeness in the first place
Stereotypes tend to disappear the more you begin to know someone, just need to be a bit open-minded when talking with someone and then you'll really get to see the type of person you're actually talking to. Appearances are often very deceiving.
“We can do one of two things but we can’t do both: we can either classify people as individuals or as groups!”’-Thomas Sowell My problem with those who argue against stereotypes is that they produce their own stereotypes without knowing it! The terms Privilege and Oppression narratives are two modern examples. So, people weaponize stereotypes all the time. Attempting to eliminate them only leads to new ones. Stereotypes are a categorization function of the brain and are evolutionarily ingrained for survival. It’s hard to eliminate them entirely, IMO.
0:23 Sprouts: Germans are punctual. German Trains: 70% are punctual. Means not later than 15 minutes on their terminus (end train station) and canceled trains not included.
Yes. Sterepotypes are important now for the same reason they were important in a stone age. When you dont have time to think, or simply dont know anything abaut a person you need to get some base on how to act untill you get more information, with the "negative" ones being waaaaaay more important, cuz potentialy they can save your life. If you see a guy "looking like a gangster" its better to treat him like he is one. Worst case scenario if he is a good guy...like litteraly nothing happens, its just random guy walking down the street you will never meet again. BUT if you dont, and he turns out to accualy be a gangster, well fuck you might get robbet or even killed. Its rule 1. of EVERYRTHING. Always be ready for a worst case scenario
Yeah OP, uh here’s the problem imagine you have a gun and a regular African male (who means no harm to you) talked to you what if stereotypes made you think he is a gangster?
Stereotypes, while not true for everyone, often offer a glimpse into the common traits of a culture or ethnicity. They don't mean every individual is identical, but rather that they've been brought up with similar beliefs, thoughts, and cultural influences, which can shape their behavior in similar ways. Stereotypes also stem from personal experiences, adding to their influence. My take is that Stereotypes are okay, Unless they affect people in negative or harmful ways. There's a fine line between stereotypes being Racist or just a way that someone might portray a group of people so that they might better know the person.
Incomplete info is never good. People should be aware of this before making any assumptions or stereotypes. Edit: yeah, we can never get full info but we can always try to get to know the most or atleast try to see things from more than one perspective.
@@stephenthompson3309 yeah ik there will always be something missing but atleast you should try to get as much as info you can get else you can see what happens when people don't even try once & make their own assumptions without giving much thought or knowing the reason.
@@lovwanshichetan I agree, totally. I guess I just wanted to introduce the idea that we should also be understanding and gracious with those who do have stereotypes. Most people are doing their best to make sense of the world and stay safe from their own limited perspectives.
The negative USA stereotype is embodied in Trump to which you should also add "have an overblown sense of entitlement". At least the positive stereotype of the French are romantic and the German are honest hard workers and the Japanese are, well, Japanese. But the USA stereotype is an excuse for them to be narcissist.
People should be judged, when such judging is necessary, as individuals. That said, it is wise to be aware of stereotypes, because they are often based on statistical truths that are on average true of a population. For instance, I'm an American, and I can tell you that on average, Americans do have the stereotypical traits you mention in the video, especially compared to the rest of the world. But not EVERY American is that way. I think it's wise to learn from other cultures, and to take their good traits, while trying to avoid the bad traits of their culture, and of one's own.
I believe stereotypes are less dangerous when we are fully aware that it’s a stereotype. in the case of implicit stereotype, that is where the problem lies. we might hold something in our minds that we don’t realize that we’re holding
As a german I would say that we are generally very punktual, stright forward and mostly hardworking but I think that we don‘t have a bad sense of humor, just a different one 😂
They are cultural differences between different groups of people, which often drive these stereotypes. However, every individual is actually rather different than a stereotype, they often will have a few traits, but when we look at a group of people all unique, the majority of their common traits show off. When interacting with a general population, try to keep the stereotypes in mind, but you need to toss them aside when working with an individual.
My only beef with this take is my beef with all takes about stereotypes. They all presume that we only learn stereotypes from what others tell us. E.g. “You must have been taught racism by your parents.” They never discuss the stereotypes we form as part of our own experience. I’ve been on earth for quite a bit of time, and I trust my own experience by light years more than I will ever trust academic dogma.
@@KitagumaIgen A really, really common stereotype is that all men are after sex without commitment and women after money. Anyone running in certain circles will see those stereotypes reinforced, even though that is a small fraction of the population.
@@goldenhoneybee8128 I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. People usually trust their own observations more than experts, even when their experience is limited to a few instances and actual experts compare thousands. In that sense, our observations are more important, though not more accurate. Did you mean that? And then there are self-appointed "experts", like those promoting "alpha male" behavior, who do no research or exceedingly bad research. Did you mean that when you put quotes around "expert"?
@@wh44 Those who we are told are 'experts'. Those paid by corporations or governments to tell us the corporations/governments are doing all good things, regardless of what is actually occurring
That sounds like too much to compute for a teenage brain, although teachers should be made aware of those problems, i doubt there's much they can do without in-depth psychoanalysis of every individual. Utopia always was and will be a fantasy, so to speak. Edit: Yes, as a german those clichés are true. Its not the individual demanding them, but society; humour changes with the eye of the beholder, but in general we are quarreling among each other a lot, what makes us grim to the onlooker.
Ok this might be off topic but I have a question about the Fiction vs Nonfiction what happens when it is based off of a real tragedy/ event that happened but the characters are fake/not in the real event ( I Survived Series) then is it facts or fantasy?
“One story becomes the only story”. Maybe. With idiots. Normal people understand that stereotypes are OBVIOUSLY NOT blanket statements. Conflating the two actually is a narcissist manipulation tactic.
Is pattern recognition useful? Obviously. Getting rid of that means making people vulnerable to manipulation. And OBVIOUSLY we should know the difference between a tendency and a blanket statement.
It's not a matter of if they are true or not, most stereotypes are true at least some of the time, but they have exceptions which are allowed to exist. A good deal of People bumble their way through life destructively applying their own heuristics to life and that mindless behavior causes all kinds of second hand problems
Stereotypes are caricatures: they are very useful for quick identification and completely useless when you actually want to understand something. (Caricatures are actually the way our brain memorises faces...)
Stereotypes are generalizations that are *generally* true but not necessarily *individually* true, and they only provide a broad-concept flash-frozen image to base split-second fight-or-flight reactions off of; having any amount of time to think about your interactions with someone means that the stereotypes you may associate with them due to their various characteristics should be compared and contrasted against who they are as an individual and any that don't match, discarded. I also dispute the concept of implicit stereotypes, as that smacks of the "subconscious racism" and other "implicit bias" type concepts (which have been thoroughly debunked, yet still some cling to them); picking up cues subconsciously is a thing, certainly, as the brain can match patterns that we consciously don't pick up on right away, but acting upon them is never a subconscious act.
When it comes to animals, here are some stereotypes that infuriate me the most: - Sharks are man-eating monsters. - Gorillas are dumb roid monkeys. - Dolphins are always friendly. - Hippos are funny fat comedians. - Spiders are aggressive pests. - Snakes are evil and untrustworthy. - Wolves are sheep-killing demons. - Wasps and hornets are sociopaths. There are more animal stereotypes, but these particular ones always grinded my gears.
Historically speaking, Stereotypes can and have also led to hostilities on both large and small scale. They led to witch hunts, discrimination, persecutions, hate crimes, dehumanization, slavery, and baseless animosity by association, just to name a few. At it's core the weakening of Stereotypes and prejudiced hostulity starts with education. Among the most basic principles that need to be taught as social awareness develops that as a rule of thumb when generalizing, there is no valid basis for hierarchy between different cultures, sexes, races, or religion, and that differences are not something to fear inherently.
As a Czech, I should be patriotic and like a beer...10 years ago I left the country with no intention of not coming back as I feel more welcomed in other places and don't like alcohol... I am finding stereotypes naturally occurring, therefore should not perceive them bad in nature. But we definately need to raise awareness of being able to distinguish them that there are not 100% valid, can be harmful in quite a big portion of cases and there should be always a second opinion in evaluating positions such as teachers, officers etc
Some stereotypes are good, for example as you mentioned the one with the snake, but most that we use in regards to other groups are definitely harmful. It can block opportunities or even make people of some groups targets of various forms of harassment, or not letting the target group's voice be heard. Also, I never knew why some people would base what everyone within a group are the same, since humans are all incredibly diverse. The odds of everyone in a group actually being carbon copies of each other or a hivemind are astronomically slim to none
Stereotypes are cognitive shortcut necessary for the funcionality of the brain in taking decisions. Without them we would use an excess of energy to categorize diferent situations to the point to make us unable to act. What we need to do, is deconstruct ourselves into understanding how we come upon certain stereotypes, specially when we are prove to be wrong upon them and open our minds to be proved wrong.
One stereotype not mentinoed, is the cliche that Irish people are always drunk. It is based in reality. Being Irish, and staying in Dublin for a while, I was in hotels, all the people went inside at about 10 and came out drunkenly singing.
yes i am asian. yes i am good at maths. no that does not mean i like maths. no i dont want to be a doctor. or a neurosurgeon. or anything medical related for that matter.
The venn diagram of individuals in a group reveal stereotypes in the disproportionate overlap. Why would we want to get rid of useful but incomplete data?
I don’t think we ever have complete information so we need to be careful with judging others even if think we do. Or maybe, we can’t ever quite judge correctly?
@@lovwanshichetan Assumptions & stereotypes Are the Starting points; they should mostly only be condemned as finishing points, otherwise you are precluding growth & change by punitively suppressing positions people genuinely may hold at any moment.
@@sprouts yeah we can't get the full context/info mostly but we can try to prevent making assumptions when we have very less, negligible or no info. By gathering info & doing some analysis on some different perspectives to prevent any fallacy or wrong assumptions/decisions. Yeah, i know there will always be some change of this happening but we can minimize :) at least
America is a continent, with 35 countries and 1 billion inhabitants. One would expect accuracy and respect from a serious site like Sprouts: don't use the synecdoche of assuming that America equals USA, especially in a video about stereotypes!...
I think that was kind of the point of the video, to show that stereotypes can definitely be harmful and incomplete even though it's an evolutionary trait - the intro is made to spark debate, the stereotypes are not true, for example every japanese person I med could outdrink me super easily, it's also about how media represent these things and how the information gets out. America is a whole continent but when we refer to "Americans" it's usually widely accepted that people are talking about the USA; it's a form of stereotyping and mental shortcut by itself.
As a german, yes most of all it was true, but some in Perspektive not, like we got many lezy teens who don't want to work and want "Bürgergeld". Some germans are unfunny, but thos are the boomers and gen x! I my self can't laught at this... + we germans are not cold, but annoyed of our Politiks and for that we let it on others out... I think we shod see stereotypes, as a "funny bonos" and not a thing to judge and Focus one the bads of It. Like we Germans still get Saw as Nazis😑
Getting rid of them is probably impossible, it's how the brain works. But by learning to work with your subconscious you can at least try to reduce it.
No it's not true what stereotypes I know this because I myself have something from stereotyping because I'm a disability I have special use my legs don't work right so I have difficulty you know I had to use a wheelchair to get around that doesn't mean I'm it doesn't mean I'm dumb or think that's not even true because people disabilities are often smarter than the regular person because we think differently that's just my opinion so awesome video by the way I really liked it
Absolutely not stereotypes should disappear because they do not help the individual form bonds or experiences based on their encounters. I don’t have a solution because it’s rooted in people’s ideologies and beliefs.
![Stereotypes [The Truth Behind Cultural Clichés]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
