How Do Stereotypes and Prejudice Affect Self-Esteem

How Do Stereotypes and Prejudice Affect Self-Esteem Name Institutional Affiliation How Do Stereotypes and Prejudice Affect Self-Esteem Introduction Individuals with low self-esteem tend to portray more signs of stereotype and prejudice. Evidence from research shows that people are more likely to employ stereotypes when their self-esteem is threatened (Wolfe & Spencer, 1996). Bodenhausen (2005) defines stereotyping as a process where individuals judge others and respond to them predicated on their social categories such as ethnicity, sex or age. The hallmark of stereotyping is that individuals will treat people belonging to such categories as largely similar to any other people of the category. Scholars have found a link between stereotyping and prejudice, with traditional conceptualization defining stereotyping as both a case and consequence of prejudice (Kawakami, Dion, & Dovidio, 1998). In this paper, the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice will be discussed and how both can result in declined self-esteem. Bodenhausen (2005) provides the definition of stereotyping, factors influencing, impacts, and ways of circumventing stereotypic bias. The article includes aspects of individuation, which go beyond labeling one as belonging to a certain community. The author differentiates stereotyping and individuation by identifying that people tend to find a broader constellation of a person’s quality such as aggressiveness to have a reason to discriminate. Common causes of stereotyping include mood states such as happiness or anxiety where sadness reduces the chances of one to stereotype. Creating awareness about the dangers of stereotyping is the first step to stereotypes. The author also suggest that having cognitive and motivation capacity can reduce stereotyping since it requires more mental effort to stereotype (Bodenhausen, 2005). Bodenhausen (2005) article provides important contributions to understanding the differences between stereotyping and individuation and expounds further to include the impacts and ways to address the problem that often leads to reduced self-esteem. In an article examining the relationship between prejudice and the endorsement of cultural stereotype activation, Kawakami, Dion, and Dovidio (1998) examine the stereotype activation endorsement using a short pronunciation task and long stimulus onset asynchronies to trigger controlled and automatic processing. Results indicated that highly prejudiced group portrayed higher cultural stereo...