Watch for
Making assumptions about an individual based on their group membership.
Outcome & SelfBias #131
Stereotyping
We categorise people by group rather than individual.
The cognitive process of categorising individuals based on generalised group characteristics rather than evaluating their individual qualities.
Why it matters: A fundamental cognitive process that underlies prejudice but is distinct from it.
Try this
Seek individuating information before making judgments about people.
Real-world example
Assuming someone from a particular profession has certain personality traits before meeting them.
Key researchers
Gordon Allport
First described in 1954
Psychological mechanism
Cognitive economy through categorisation. The brain uses categories as mental shortcuts to process social information efficiently. Stereotypes are the content of these categories.
Seminal research
Gordon W. Allport (1954), "The Nature of Prejudice."
Below is a realistic scenario. Read it, then choose what you would do. The feedback will show whether a cognitive bias influenced your choice — not to judge, but to reveal the pattern in action.
Thought Experiment
This experiment places you in a realistic decision. Your instinctive choice will reveal whether bias is at work.
STEP 1 → ReadSTEP 2 → ChooseSTEP 3 → Reveal
Debrief
Stereotyping is not inherently malicious — it is a natural cognitive process of categorisation. The problem is when category-level assumptions override individual-level information. The corrective is to notice when you are treating a stereotype as a fact about a specific person.
Sources
EducationalAPA Dictionary entry