User:Chaicow/Self-stereotyping

Age[edit]
Self-stereotyping emerges in early adolescence then decreases in young adulthood. It has been described as a form of depersonalization in which the self is viewed as a categorically interchangeable member of a salient ingroup. The growth of one’s social identity can directly relate to a decline in one's personal identity since conforming to group goals influences an individual's beliefs and behaviors.

Gender[edit]
Self-stereotyping by gender is seen in children as early as five-years-old. Research examining gender-based self-stereotyping has characterized female ingroups as low status and male ingroups as high status. This is because in modern society gender inequality still exists. Women have been show to self-stereotype more than men, yet self-stereotyping decreases in men when presented with gender equality information. Coleman and Hong (2008) have pointed out that when women believe gender differences are attribute to biology differences between men and women, negative self-stereotyping also increases. Furthermore, implicit gender self-categorization has been identified as a key mechanism underlying the tendency of women to self-stereotype.

Environment[edit]
Self-stereotyping is not only limited to social group settings, it can also occur with environmental cues. In other words, when an individual is exposed to something in their environment that is relevant to their low status identity, they may shift their own beliefs or behaviors to fit the low status identity. The effects of environmental factors on self stereotyping among low status groups has been studied in gay men. A study found that being in a gay space, such as a gay bookstore, tended to make gay men identify very strongly with positive traits that are stereotypically gay. This pronounced self stereotyping trend was not found in the studied gay men in neutral spaces or heterosexual men.

Culture[edit]
Research has shown that individualist cultures engage in more self-stereotyping because they rely more on interpersonal relationships, group cohesion, and in-group ties compared to collectivist cultures.

Group Dynamic[edit]
Some researchers have found that self-stereotyping is somewhat dependent upon an individual’s belief that he/she and the group are capable of change. If the individual believes that the groups needs are different from their own, they may have to adapt his/her self-representation in order to maintain membership within the in-group. However, if other in-group members are flexible to change, an individual is more likely to maintain his/her self-image and avoid self-stereotyping. Individuals tend to adapt to group characteristics more readily if they see this change as an enhancement to the self. Therefore, the individual's perception of the group influences how much he or she is willing to sacrifice in order to be a member.

Bisexuality
An essential aspect of self stereotyping in low status groups is the presence of a clear prototype. A study investigated the effect that self stereotyping had on bisexual people’s self esteem, identity uncertainty, mood, and stress. This study found that self-stereotyping did not cause bisexual individuals to experience the same well-being boosts observed when other individuals in low status groups, including gay and lesbian people, engage in self-stereotyping. These results may be attributed to the fact that bisexuality, due to being neither heterosexual nor homosexual, is an identity that lacks a distinct and clearly defined group; this absence of a clearly defined group means that there is no defined prototype.