Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id NAA18775 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 2 Apr 2002 13:27:35 +0100 Message-ID: <000801c1d828$acea1d00$e2a0eb3e@default> From: "Kenneth Van Oost" <Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be> To: <kennethvanoost@myrealbox.com> Subject: Fw: Stereotypes !! Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 21:22:17 +0100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Steve Drew <srdrew_1@hotmail.com>
> > BTW, i'm very interested in stereotypes, as they are way of coping with
a
> > vast amount of data. I think the problem is that as society became more
> and
> > more complex, so the stereotypes become more inaccurate and subject to
> > social situations that they were not really evolved to cope with.
> >
> > Stereotypes are not limited to racial groups, but to situations i.e., i
> > think they evolved as we did. A neat mental trick when you are hunting
or
> > digging for lunch would be to have a 'situation template' in your
noggin.
> If
> > it is too detailed you would starve as no two locations are the same and
> you
> > would not find a match. If the pattern were too general you would end up
> > poisoned through eating the wrong thing etc.
> >
> > So some theories suggest that we are hard wired to stereotype people and
> > situations, as it is (in early human history) too good a trick not to.
But
> > in the modern world the system doesn't seem to work as well due to the
> > amount of info and situations we encounter.
> >
> > So i reckon we are hard wired to stereotype, but who and what have lots
of
> > social input.
>
> Hi Steve,
>
> All seems to be quiet on the memetic front, so in the meanwhile....
>
> Now at the end of a very busy fortnight, it struck me by surprise that
> while I was working with the people designated to me that maybe one
> reason why I get the work done where others seem to fail is due to
> the use of stereotypes.
> I often wondered why I get so easily along with people of other cul-
> tures, I suppose it was my interest in those, but now I am not that sure.
>
> This is maybe a longshot but the reason I see fit to qualify as an answer
> is that I see the people where I work with like they really are.
> No offense intented here, but in my crounty black people are considered
> as lazy, they take no initiave, they don 't like very mush physical labour
> and get very easy distracted. If, thus you have to work with them, 9 out
> of 10 times the project will fail due to those stereotypical
> characteristics.
>
> But, I had chances to observe them and my own actions during the last
> couple of days, it seems to me that by consolidation of those stereo-
> typical aspects of their being that I get a better result
> That means I disregard the fact of feminism and give to the woman I
> work with typical woman- jobs,
> To the lazy bumps I give an easy part, the strong I use to lift things
> and so on...
> And in fact, in return I get a better overall result. In a way their weak-
> nesses do become a sense of strenght.
> In a way I use the typical stereotypical aspects of their being to my
> advance, and I do that, oh wonder me, conscient and all the time !!
>
> And to my bigger surprise, they don 't seem to care ( I don 't tell them,
> of course), everybody is happy with the role he/ she plays in and for
> the better good.
> Application of stereotypical aspects as the groundrule for teambuilding,
> so to speak.
> How does this relate to your interest and to some of the theories !?
>
> Regards,
>
> Kenneth
>
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