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Sociology vocabulary · Migration, Race and Ethnicity

Stereotype

Meaning in sociology, with examples

/ˈsteriətaɪp/nounCore term

In sociology, stereotype means: A simplified and fixed belief about the characteristics of all members of a group, which ignores individual differences and is often negative.

In Turkish: kalıp yargı, stereotip, basmakalıp düşünce

How it is used

Used as a noun and as a verb (to stereotype someone). Media studies often analyse how groups are stereotyped in films, news and advertising. Stereotypes can feed prejudice and discrimination, and even positive stereotypes can be limiting.

Example sentences

  1. The advertisement relied on the stereotype of the forgetful old man.

  2. Teachers' gender stereotypes can affect which subjects pupils choose.

Common collocations

  • gender stereotypes
  • negative stereotype
  • reinforce stereotypes
  • challenge stereotypes
  • discriminationTreating people unfairly or differently because they belong to a particular group, for example on the basis of gender, ethnicity, age, religion or disability.
  • ethnocentrismJudging other cultures by the standards of your own and treating your own group's way of life as normal or superior.
  • stigmaA mark of disgrace attached to a characteristic, condition or identity, which leads other people to see a person as less acceptable or less normal.
  • gender roleThe set of behaviours, tasks and attitudes that a society considers suitable for women or for men, usually learned through socialisation.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Migration, Race and Ethnicity

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