Stereotypes

Stereotypes are different sets of characteristics that different groups are widely believed or widely depicted to have.

Some stereotypes are politically incorrect, often involving groups such as immigrants and races, and claimed by, for example, the politically correct mass media, to be commonly believed but to be false.

Some stereotypes are politically correct stereotypes, promoted by, for example, the politically correct mass media and claimed to be accurate.

Politically incorrect stereotypes

A 2016 study in Denmark found that "stereotypes" of social benefits use by different immigrant groups were generally accurate. Stereotypes tended to underestimate the percentages of persons receiving social benefits and underestimate real group differences. Stereotypes were found to be less accurate for the groups with higher proportions of Muslims, in that participants underestimated the percentages of persons receiving social benefits.

Another 2016 study found that, in the UK, opposition to immigrants from different countries correlated strongly with immigrant arrests rates and immigrant arrest rates for violent crime. The study stated that "This is particularly noteworthy given that Britons reportedly think that an immigrant’s criminal history should be one of the most important characteristics when considering whether he or she should be allowed into the country. Moreover, the associations are not accounted for by a general opposition to non-Whites, non-Westerners, foreigners who do not speak English, Muslims, or those from countries with low average IQ. While circumstantial in nature, the study’s findings suggest that public beliefs about immigrants are more accurate than is often assumed."

See also Race and crime: Immigration and crime.

"At an even more basic level, social scientists widely believe that stereotypes are, virtually by definition, wrong. They believe stereotypes rationalize discrimination, so, as Prof. Jussim notes, “crediting any accuracy to stereotypes is tantamount to endorsing bigotry.” He points out that there used to be plenty of research into the accuracy not only of stereotypes but of what people thought about themselves and other people. This research stopped dead from about 1955 to 1985. The assumption that all stereotypes are wrong was so widespread that it was considered futile–even immoral–to study their accuracy. [...] Stereotypes are part of mankind’s ability to generalize. Logicians call it inductive reasoning. As Prof. Jussin notes, “scientific research evidence pervasively demonstrates extraordinary levels of accuracy in social stereotypes. Of course, they are not 100 percent accurate. Prof. Jussim reports that people are good at putting groups in rank order (who is more or less likely to be criminals, have illegitimate children, graduate from high school, etc.) but they are not nearly as good at quantifying the differences. This is to be expected. Most people don’t pore over census data. But they have a pretty good idea of the differences between races, sexes, nationalities, people of various professions, etc."

"Interestingly, Prof. Jussim found that political stereotypes are among the least accurate. Republicans and Democrats assume crazy things about each other, with Democrats slightly more crazy than Republicans."

False counterexamples

False counterexamples are very common when trying to discredit politically incorrect stereotypes. See the article on this.

Group differences regarding beliefs in stereotypes

"Particularly interesting are the ways in which people are inaccurate. Whites and blacks are both about as likely to know the rank order in which the races differ in outcomes, but whites tend to underestimate the extent of the differences while black overestimate them. Prof. Jussim notes that this is not consistent with the view that the majority uses harshly inaccurate stereotypes as a tool of oppression. Blacks, on the other hand, have two reasons to exaggerate differences. First, they are told repeatedly that white society oppresses them and they believe it. Second, since any alleged evidence of oppression is leverage for special treatment, it is in their interests to exaggerate differences."

"Prof. Jussim finds that liberals are especially likely to disbelieve in group differences: [T]hose most likely to inaccurately underestimate real differences were liberals in denial about group differences. . . [I]ntelligence did not matter for this group. Brainy liberals were just as likely as dumb liberals to inaccurately minimize real differences. It’s the opposite for non-liberals. The smarter they are, the more likely they are to have an accurate understanding of group differences. This makes sense, since smart people are usually more knowledgeable about the world. Prof. Jussim wonders whether smart liberals have actually managed to block reality or whether they know the truth but refuse to admit it."

"Prof. Jussim cites one study in which subjects were given a test to see where they ranked on a scale of Right-Wing Authoritarianism, which is supposed to indicate susceptibility to fascism. If people who scored high on that scale turned out to have exaggerated stereotypes the study would no doubt have trumpeted that fact. They didn’t, so the results ended up in a footnote."

Claimed importance and negative effects of stereotypes

It has become politically correct to argue for the importance of negative effects caused by stereotypes, such as by claiming that stereotypes strongly shape behaviors, claiming that stereotypes are unaffected by contrary evidence, and claiming that stereotypes cause self-fulfilling prophecies. However, empirical evidence for this has been argued to be dubious, such as some widely cited and politically correct studies claiming this possibly being fraudulent, and in any cause the claimed results being unreplicated by later studies.

Furthermore, "research findings are clear: people use stereotype when they have no other information to go on, but as they get more “individuating” information they treat people as individuals. Prof. Jussim notes that this is still a controversial conclusion among social scientists, who are convinced that most people are blinded by stereotypes and ignore information about individuals."

Effects of stereotypes on IQ

See Race and intelligence: The genetics or not debate:Stereotype threat and stereotype expectation.

Politically correct stereotypes

Politically correct stereotypes are promoted by the politically correct mainstream media, including in mainstream movies and television series. Cultural Marxism is an important influence.

Examples of politically correct stereotypes involve depictions of:

• Skinheads
• Holocaust fictional descriptions
• Hollywood Nazism
• Homosexuality: Public perceptions of the prevalence of homosexuality
• White supremacism
• White trash

The "Magical Negro" is a stereotype in entertainment media, which despite the depictions being very positive, today may not be considered to be politically correct.

See also

• Physiognomy - On outer appearance and mental characteristics, which may be related to stereotypes.

External links

• A Blow Against Anti-White Science