Case file
Stereotyping
- Filed under
- Not Enough Meaning
The charge
Stereotyping is assigning traits or likely behavior to an individual based mainly on group membership.
How it operates
Stereotypes are mental shortcuts that trade accuracy and nuance for speed and predictability.
Logged incidents
- Incident 01
Assuming older candidates are less adaptable to new tools.
- Incident 02
Assuming designers are weak with numbers before seeing their work.
- Incident 03
Assuming enterprise buyers always resist change.
What to watch for
Ask: What do I actually know about this person, separate from the label I attached?
Recommended action
Use structured criteria, blinded screens where possible, and individuating evidence.
Known associates
- Group Attribution ErrorGroup attribution error is assuming what is true of one member is true of the whole group, or that…
- Ultimate Attribution ErrorUltimate attribution error is interpreting your own group's bad behavior as situational but another group's…
- EssentialismEssentialism is believing categories of people or things have a deep fixed essence that explains how they…
- Functional FixednessFunctional fixedness is seeing an object, team, or process only in its usual role and missing other workable…
- Moral Credential EffectMoral credential effect is using a past moral act as psychological permission to behave less ethically later.
- Just-World HypothesisJust-world hypothesis is the tendency to assume people generally get what they deserve and deserve what they…
Source of record