Typically, participants give higher ratings for conjunctions of events. As a whole I feel I did make my judgments on objective probabilities. Nevertheless, I know that there are many different types of people in the world, and that there is no strict, determinant correlation between likes and actions. Therefore, even though I may have used what was logical and what I have learnt from experience, this does not necessarily mean that it will be correct.
Stereotypes are the various mental groupings that a person may have with respect to others. In this sense, MackKie (1973) contends that “A stereotype refers to those folk beliefs about the attributes characterizing a social category on which there is substantial agreement” (p. 435). One takes a couple of characteristics that a person may have and completes the rest of his or her personality and whole life through them. They are obviously very important to this demonstration’s findings, as it evidences them. By having different people arrive at the same conclusions about others when they only have a few clues from which to work with, one can see that there is, in fact, a strong social consensus that links these different attributes. If stereotypes did not exist, people would not have reached the same answers, as the clues that they had to work from were little and vague. Therefore, one can see that there is a consensus about social groups and their characteristics through the findings of this demonstration.
As stated earlier, these constructions are very important when taking decisions in real life. Often, one does not have too much information available, so one must fill in the blanks with regards to the rest of the person’s life. There are many reasons for this lack of information: time concerns may be a factor, as one constantly has to take split-second decisions. To complicate this even more, the person may, in turn, start behaving stereotypically as well (Chen & Bargh, 1996). Nevertheless, there are also other cases when it is difficult to know everything about the person. To begin, it may be inappropriate to ask; however, it may just come down to the simple fact that people are unpredictable and may live their life in almost infinite ways. This obviously means that they will often be erroneous; there is no logical determination between one aspect of a person’s life and another. In spite of this, this may still serve as a helpful tool for obtaining a main idea about a person. Therefore, stereotypes are useful in taking decision, even though they may often be erroneous.
For example, if one were to interview a person, it would be best to obtain all the information possible straight from the person’s mouth and one’s objective observation. If one were to do this with two coworkers, it would be best for each one to interview the candidate separately, write down the results, and then compare and contrast them. This would eliminate many biases that a person may feel subjectively, and as a group, as well. Nevertheless, due to the social component of stereotypes, it would be impossible to eradicate this altogether, as they would all have the same stereotypes.
Reference List
Chen, M. & Bargh J. A. (1996). Nonconscious Behavioral Confirmation Processes: The Self-Fulfilling Consequences of Automatic Stereotype Activation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33(5), 541-560. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103197913299
MacKie, M. (1973). Arriving at "Truth" by Definition: The Case of Stereotype Inaccuracy. Social Problems, 20(4), 431-447. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/799706
