Member-only story
Why Do We Stereotype?
In Mario Kart, some maps let you cross the starting line then circle back around and trick the game into thinking you’ve completed a full lap. You can cross the finish line while everyone else is still navigating the second corner.
These shortcuts are a sure-fire way to win the race.
From an evolutionary biology perspective, processing information as fast as possible carries a huge advantage when it comes to survival.
So our brains are also in a race. They like taking shortcuts, too.
Why would we expend a bunch of cognitive effort doing full laps around a track when we can simply circle around and finish in a fraction of the time?
Why think more when think less do trick?
Stereotypes Are Mental Shortcuts
Stereotypes help our brain process information as fast as possible. We can use a quick association rather than spending time and energy on critical thinking.
They work as mental models which rapidly turn raw information into an actionable knowledge structure. And media outlets play a powerful role in constructing stereotypes that the public adopts.
“Stereotypes are the beliefs, expectations, and theories held about different groups in…
