# Managing Groups and Teams/Stereotyping

## Stereotypes

Stereotypes are general assumptions individuals hold against other
individuals of a different socioeconomic or characteristic group. Those
who appear different than us are most generally stereotyped under
another more or less fortunate grouped based primarily on image; most
generally wrongfully categorized. For instance different cultures base a
lot of creditability of another country based upon what they may see in
the media; this is never quite as it seems. Where did stereotyping come
from?

## History of Stereotypes

Prior to a discussion and analysis of stereotypes, it is important to
recognize if stereotypes exist in society. Many experts argue that
stereotypes are developed at an early age influenced by family friends
and social surroundings. For example, if an individual grows up with
minimal exposure to a certain minority race, then the media plays a more
crucial role in shaping that individual's perception of that minority
race. Stereotypes tend to exist when there is a limited or no mixing of
different cultures within ones socioeconomic surrounding; also referred
to as the unknown culture. Some experts believe that stereotypes are
"are actually a neverending chain of thoughts."[^1] It is an inherent
cultural ignorance that disposes individuals to misconceived
perceptions.

Those misconceived perceptions can have a negative and positive impact
on one's life. Negative impacts exist where "If one group may assume the
other group is deceitful and aggressive, they themselves will respond in
a deceitful and aggressive manner, leading the opponent to respond in
the like, thus confirming the initial group\'s perception creating a
self-fulfilling prophecy."[^2] Negative stereotyping can lead to those
being discriminated against to feel less accepted, thereby creating an
innate disruptive behavior and creating feeling of lower self-worth.
Such low emotion creates in an individual "feeling of inferiority and
lower self-worth."[^3] Positive impacts occur where there is an increase
in moral and performance because the individual feels they are part of
an accepted group.

Stereotypes have traditionally been defined as "something conforming to
a fixed or general pattern, a standardized mental picture that is held
in common by members of a group representing an oversimplified opinion,
prejudiced attitude, or critical judgment."[^4] Stereotypes were first
branded by Firmin Didot as a term for printing, creating a duplicate
impression, original typographical impression. However, they were later
associated with pictures in people's heads of one's perception of what
is right and what is wrong. Stereotypes tend to be exaggerated beliefs
about specific social groups or types of individuals. We develop our
stereotypes from a sense of learned perception from family, friends,
religion, and the media. These stereotypes we possess are "standardized,
simplified conception of groups based from prior assumptions."[^5]
Stereotypes have been classified into two groups: inter-group and
out-group. Inter-group stereotypes are those "where personal identity
and self-esteem are derived from groups to which they belong or can
identify. They are more normal and superior."[^6] On the other hand,
out-groups have been defined as "less attractive, outcasts or all other
groups generally seen as inferior to inter-groups.[^7]

Stereotypes have continued to endure during the passage of time.
Stereotypes will constantly persist until people are better educated
about the differences between groups and cultures. Some experts feel
that stereotypes are influenced by the government and will continue to
exist as we continue to "divide and conquer".[^8] With the high
influence that the media puts on socioeconomic cultures, stereotyping
will continue to exist so far as those in less diverse geographical
areas rely on what outside influences they receive regarding various
cultures. The fear of the unknown is what drives the existence of
stereotypes. Stereotypes continue to be generated from individuals who
fear others that are of a different race or culture, the unknown. The
fear of the unknown, also referred to as the "Non-uniformity, tends to
create misunderstanding."[^9] In addition, "the competitive aspect of
human nature supports the innate need to prove oneself more worthy than
another. The differences between people make it easier to compare to one
another."[^10] Until society can learn to be more tolerant of those that
are different, stereotyping will continue to exist.

## Problems Caused By Stereotypes

A number of problems tend to develop from the assimilation of
stereotypes in society. Stereotypes cause various problems that impede
the proper functioning of teams. One such problem is group divisions.
Demographic characteristics such as age, ethnicity and gender are
"easily observable and team members use them to attribute specific
patterns of thought, attitudes and behaviors to themselves and others.
Some suggest that most people are attracted to, and prefer to be with,
others who are demographically similar to themselves."[^11] Group
divisions tend to cause "harmful divisions within organizations because
of the lack of coordination and support."[^12] An additional problem
caused by stereotypes is missed opportunities. A perceiver of a
situation assumes that the target possesses the same characteristics of
other members of the target's category stereotype and incorporates those
attributes into his or her impression of the target. By attributing
attributes, the "perceiver places the target into a category, thereby
possibly missing out on the target's real strengths."[^13]

Often, successful managers are viewed as more similar to men than to
women on attributes considered critical to effective work performance
such as leadership ability, self-confidence, objectivity, forcefulness,
and ambition. Essentially, "women are not believed to possess the
qualities essential for success in management positions, possibly
causing companies to miss out on promoting women to important management
positions."[^14] The last problem caused by stereotypes is a negative
impact on employees and the employee\'s performance. When managers who
are prejudiced against certain groups allow those prejudices to
influence how they treat employees, "the prejudice becomes
institutionalized and affected individuals become systematically
disadvantaged."[^15] Research has shown that stereotypes can have a
negative impact on employee feelings and behavior, inhibiting the
employee from performing to the best of his or her abilities.
Stereotypes also "make employees work harder, but not better. In sum,
when stereotypes are present, performance declines."[^16] The stereotype
threat describes the experience of a person who is aware of a stereotype
about his or her identity group suggesting shortfalls in performance on
the given task. This awareness can "have a disruptive effect on
performance."[^17] Making salient negative stereotypes about both black
and white athletes has the potential "to cause poorer athletic
performance relative to when they perform an athletic task in a positive
or neutral evaluative context."[^18]

## How to Identify Stereotypes in Team Members

Stereotypes can affect all individuals in a team. Two common stereotype
issues that individuals may succumb to are stereotype threat and social
identity theory. Stereotype threat has been defined as "A fear
individuals experience when they are at risk of confirming a negative
stereotype that is held about their group.\" Steele and Aronson in this
definition are referring to any group that an individual may identify
with i.e.: gender, religion, ethnicity, etc."[^19] There are a number of
factors that cause stereotypes to affect individuals in a team. The
person must view themselves, or be viewed by others as a high performer.
The individual feels as though others in the team have high expectations
for their performance. In addition, the individual must have a strong
identity with the stereotyped group. This person must also "be in a
situation where others might question their abilities."[^20] The last
factor is that "those individuals who are most easily affected are those
who expect discrimination or who believe that a stereotype is
legitimate."[^21] Stereotype threat can affect individuals, but it is
difficult to identify.

There are several effects caused by stereotype threat. One effect can be
the self-fulfilling prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy exists where
"Individuals identifying with a stereotyped group are so concerned that
their actions will have negative implications concerning everyone in the
group. This stress can inevitably affect their performance which brings
on the results they most hoped to avoid."[^22] In fact, studies have
shown that stereotyping in teams "can limit working memory and self
monitoring capabilities."[^23]

Another common problem with stereotypes in groups is social identity
theory. The social identity theory has been defined as "Individuals gain
their identity from the groups to which they perceive membership."[^24]
Factors that are attributed to the social identity theory include
"Individuals define themselves by the social groups to which they belong
then they work to elevate themselves further by drawing comparisons
between their group and those not in the group. This is called in-group
vs. out-group."[^25] The effect that the social identity theory has on
teams is that "By classifying people as in group/out group this leads to
discrimination of members of the out group."[^26] Teams will suffer if
individual team members do not treat each other with respect and accept
each person's differences.

## Managing Stereotypes

There are various ways to ineffectively manage stereotypes. One
ineffective way of managing stereotypes is through stereotype
inhibition. While individuals who were motivated have been "shown to
make fewer stereotype connections in situations in which they would
otherwise activate stereotypes,"[^27] it can actually "lead to increased
stereotyping, as a rebound effect leads to more increasing after
stereotypes were suppressed."[^28] An additional ineffective way of
managing stereotypes is through increasing familiarity. The Intergroup
Contact Theory proposed by Gordon W. Allport in 1954 stated that
interpersonal contact could reduce stereotypes. However, contact alone
is not sufficient because "individuals not conforming to stereotypes
will be rejected from the category and placed in a sub category."[^29]
Anxiety and threat levels can increase prejudice, while additional
goals, such as equality among the different groups, common goals, and a
lack of competition, can "lead to intergroup friendship and structured
optimal contact, thereby leading to the best results."[^30]

Effective methods to manage stereotypes include mental imagery, where
recipients using counterstereotypic mental imagery were able to reduce
implicit stereotypes. By stopping implicit stereotypes from happening,
the judgment or stereotypical behavior is avoided. Preventing the
implicit stereotypes from occurring "halts the suppressing of
stereotypes which can lead to the rebound effect."[^31] Perspective
taking is an effectively proven method to manage stereotypes. The
process of taking another's perspective to focus on situation
constraints and influences are helpful in explaining their behavior
without resorting to stereotypes. This helps other groups to "become
part of your own in-group and leads to more positive associations with
the group."[^32] An additional method of effective management of
stereotypes is superordinate goal. When two groups have stereotypes
towards each other, the introduction of a superordinate goal that
depends on both groups for success has been shown to lead to
cooperation, reduced friction, and changed attitudes toward the
out-group. Friendships "were also formed with members of
out-groups."[^33] The last effective method is to eliminate stereotype
threats. Studies have shown that introducing negative stereotypes can
lead to poor performance. Social identities become active when
stereotypes are available and apparent. By eliminating stereotypes and
introducing positive associations, overall team performance can be
improved.

## Conclusion

Stereotypes have been a part of our culture since the beginning of time.
They will continue to exist indefinitely. The true test would be how do
we continue to create a better worldly understanding of the differences
between each other? By recognizing the personal stereotypes we hold
against each other and how we ourselves are being stereotyped, we can
begin to understand one another and better communicate our beliefs and
positions more clearly.

## References


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