Article February 1, 1999 Issue

... So where do stereotypes come from?

By Rosalie E. Dunbar

In this section, you've seen examples of how people tend to pigeonhole others—to expect certain behavior because of another's background, age, color, or other physical characteristic. The reason for such experiences is explained by this statement from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: "Ignorance, pride, or prejudice closes the door to whatever is not stereotyped" (p. 144).

When any of us let ignorance, pride, or prejudice lead us, we're likely to end up expecting people to behave in certain ways. And those expectations tend to be negative, even when our own life experience has shown us something better. Here's an example:

I had lived for many years in New York City, happily rubbing shoulders with people of all colors and backgrounds. But on this occasion I was in a strange city—a white woman with a white car that had broken down in a black neighborhood. In my hurry to get out to examine the engine, I locked myself out of the car. There was a housing development next to me, and a seedy-looking bar across the street. It was getting dark and no telephone was in sight.

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