Decease… Death… Die…

Stereotypes are the certain beliefs and “habitual knowledge” of people concerning the qualities and features of character of other individuals, and also events, notions, things.

Depending on the object character and its place in the social structure, there are different kinds of stereotypes, for example, group, professional, ethnic, age stereotypes. In a quality of objects of the stereotypization, more often there come out generalization and simplified images of these groups.

The base of the ethnic stereotype is usually some appreciable feature of appearance (color of skin, the shape of lips, the shape of eyes, type of hair, height and etc.). The base of stereotype can be also some feature in character and behavior of a person.

The real bearer of the stereotypes is a group and that’s why it is necessary to try to find the stereotype’s roots exactly in the group’s experience.

In spite of validity or invalidity, truth or falsity of stereotypes, all of them are the integral element of any culture and by its fact of existence they influence at the psychology and behavior of people, they influence at their consciousness and international contacts.

Where are the stereotypes from?

Stereotype adoption by the person is happening by the different ways in the process of socialization and inculturation. Stereotypes, mainly, are gained in the process of communication with those people with whom you meet most often. Stereotypes can appear through the limited personal contacts.

A special place in generation of stereotypes has mass media. The possibilities of stereotypes’ forming with the help of mass media are not limited in its scale and in its power. For the majority of people, the press, radio and television are the authorities.

For the majority of people the mass media are the authoritative opinion which doesn’t revalue critically. This happens in that case when the individual doesn’t have enough knowledge for forming of own opinion or a set.

The status of the information source has a big meaning. For example, absolutely evident the result of the informative influence at people which is carried out by the famous politician or a public figure. Here the factor of authority of the information’s source plays a big role.

The authority phenomenon of mass media is in the ability to relieve of the responsibility for the adopt decision.