Stereotype facts for kids

The First Thanksgiving 1621, oil on canvas by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899). The painting shows common misconceptions about the event: Pilgrims did not wear such outfits, and the Wampanoag are dressed in the style of Native Americans from the Great Plains.

A stereotype is an idea or belief many people have about a thing or group that is based upon how they look on the outside, which may be untrue or only partly true. Stereotyping people is a type of prejudice because what is on the outside is a small part of who a person is. Stereotypes might be used as reasons to discriminate against another person, or sometimes for a humorous effect in many television programmes.

The term was invented in the late 18th century for a method of printing. In the middle 19th century it meant the faithful duplication of pictures. It got a psychological meaning in the 20th century.

Images for kids

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  An 18th-century Dutch engraving of the peoples of the world, depicting the inhabitants of Asia, the Americas and Africa as savages. Shown below are an Englishman, a Dutchman, a German and a Frenchman.

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  Police officers buying doughnuts and coffee, an example of perceived stereotypical behavior in North America.

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  Only boys playing video games exemplifies a common stereotype that video games are predominantly made for and played by boys.

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  Stereotype content model, adapted from Fiske et al. (2002): Four types of stereotypes resulting from combinations of perceived warmth and competence.

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  American political cartoon titled The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things, depicting a drunken Irishman lighting a powder keg and swinging a bottle. Published in Harper's Weekly, 1871.

See also

In Spanish: Estereotipo para niños