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Question: Do stereotypes serve as an impediment or an impetus for exploring the reality of the world in which we live? How should we, as educators, understand the role of stereotypes?
According to Pinker (2002), naïve realism supposes that “we just see things as they are” (p. 199), which places much credit on people’s perceptual and cognitive ability to explore reality, and indicates that the world we perceive is the real world. Pinker (2002) uses the visual illustration phenomenon and a gestalt-type experiment as evidence to disprove naïve realism and the disconnection between reality and mind. This philosophical argument is insightful and illuminating, which reminds me the perspective of philosopher Karl Marx, who wrote that “the ideal is nothing else than the material world reflected by the human mind, and translated into forms of thought” (Marx, 1999, p. 14). I agree that our mind and the material world are closely connected, and the function of our brains is to reflect the material as closely as possible, although sometimes with mistakes. As Pinker stated “the brain evolved … to keep us in touch with aspects of reality that were relevant to the survival and reproduction of our ancestors” (Pinker, 2002, p. 201). However, I do not agree with Karl Marx that our thought is purely equal to the reflection of the material world, because he dismissed the influence of “past experiences and education” (James, 1962, p. 7). The existence of stereotypes proves that what we perceive might not reflect reality, and may even mislead our action in the world.
First impressions are typical examples of stereotype. When we first meet a person, the information we perceive is limited: race, gender, age, and appearance. Our brains attempt to picture a whole image of the person, but without sufficient related information, what do our brains do? We are inclined to recall our past experiences including impressions of former friends with similar backgrounds, or similar types of people from media, educational, or other sources. We then complete the new image for this strange person in order to comfort our cognitive dissonance. A new or strange objective would probably be ignored, especially by adults (James, 1962). This seemingly complicated procedure of forming first impressions of a stranger happens in a second. It is not realistic to expect this procedure to be perfect. The information we recalled from former experiences and knowledge is likely not at all true for this stranger. My first impression of persons with white hair as elderly or frail might not be accurate for someone in poor health or with dyed hair. Sometimes, young people rinse their hair to white, and elderly people can be strong. Therefore, the notion that what we see is how things really are, or that people’s thoughts reflect the reality, is not tenable.
Pinker pointed out that “the partial accuracy of many stereotypes does not… mean that racism, sexism and ethnic prejudice are acceptable” (p. 205) and “the good news is that when the facts do change, people’s stereotypes can change with them” (p. 206). For example, girls are traditionally viewed as poorer performers in math and science than boys. This stereotype will be changed when more women’s achievements in science and math have been recognized. However, as contemporary educators, we have a responsibility to do more than change perspectives as facts become known. We need to change perceptions through efforts to overcoming stereotypes through education, by treating students as individuals, and by providing equal opportunities in all settings.
Marx, K. (1999). Capital, A Critique of Political Economy Vol. Volume I: The Process of Production of Capital. Retrieved from http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Capital-Volume-I.pdf
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