Blog #4- Sororities and Stereotypes

Although it is hard to admit, all individuals cultivate stereotypes about one or more groups of people. Whether it is a racial attribution or a simple cultural association, stereotypes are prevalent and also mostly incorrect. Stereotypes are perceived commonalities about a group of people that is specific to a few characteristics, which leads to overlooking individuality (Ford & Tonander, 1998; Kreuger et al., 1989; Spears, 2002; Stangor & Lange, 1994; Wyer et al., 2002). Due to the negative connotations that go along with stereotyping, most individuals would not like to believe that they engage in this grouping practice; however it is a known part of our social interactions.

I have personally engaged in and encountered stereotyping in a variety of situations. One of the most recent examples of stereotyping was when I was entering Southwestern and discussing my plans with my peers. All of my other friends had joined sororities and fraternities at other schools, and were encouraging me to go Greek. I was appalled by their suggestion that I should join such a pointless organization of vapid girls who criticized outsiders, and even themselves, over meaningless issues. Although that now seems like a harsh judgment, those were the traits I associated with sorority girls, and my perception of them was altered by my limited knowledge of Greek life. As I experienced my first semester as a college freshman, I met many sorority girls and began to call them friends. Not one of them met my negative expectations, and I began to change my viewpoint. Most importantly, I got to know a few of the girls on an individual basis and found that they had many unique interests beyond the boundaries of their sororities. I was lucky to have the chance to break down my stereotype of sorority girls, and because of my enlightened perspective on them chose to engage in formal recruitment in the spring of my freshman year. After becoming a member of Alpha Delta Pi, my stereotypes about sororities were entirely shattered as I met a diverse group of incredibly intelligent and compassionate women who far surpassed even my best expectations for a group of friends. I found that stereotypes are much easier to believe when the targeted groups are not seen as individuals, but rather as merely a melting pot of a few choice characteristics. Due to my positive experience with breaking my stereotype of sororities, I have made an effort to dismiss stereotypes as much as possible, in favor of creating informed opinions about individuals.

References

Ford, T. E., & Tonander, G. R. (1998). The role of differentiation between groups and social identity in stereotype formation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61, 372-384.

Krueger, J., Rothbar, M., & Sriram, N. (1989). Category learning and change: differences in sensitivity to information that enhances or reduces intercategory distinctions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 866-875.

Spears, R. (2002). Four degrees of stereotype formation: Differentiation by any means necessary. In C. McGarty, V. Y. Yzerbyt, & R. Spears (Eds.), Stereotypes as explanations: The formation of meaningful beliefs about social groups (pp. 127-156). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Stangor, C., & Lange, J. E. (1994). Mental representations of social groups: Advances in understanding stereotypes and stereotyping. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 26, pp. 357-416). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Wyer, N. A., Sadler, M. S., & Judd, C. M. (2002). Contrast effects in stereotype formation and change: The role of comparative context. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 443-458.