Stereotypical thinking: features, types and tips for getting rid

Every person every day is faced with stably repeating actions, stamped phrases and template decisions that prevent the individual from thinking extraordinary and feeling his own self-sufficiency. Stereotypic thinking often distorts reality, changes the pattern of perception of the environment and prevents the appearance of new original images.

Stereotypical thinking is formed as a result of excessive susceptibility of concepts and ideas imposed by the media and the world around them. A child from birth is accustomed to standard actions. Each person with his non-trivial views is individual and unique. But people from childhood are limited by far-fetched norms, driven into a certain framework. Laying out templates, ready-made cliches deprives them of the ability to make extraordinary decisions.

For most people, stereotypes become the basis of mental activity. They begin to constantly use established clichés and stamps, apply them in all situations, generalizing the world around them.

The stereotype of thinking is that the individual divides everything that happens in the world into true and false information. The stereotyped perception of the environment causes a hostile attitude towards other opinions. Stereotypical people perceive the value and correctness of their thoughts and attitudes. They do not perceive judgments that differ from their beliefs. The stereotype becomes a model to which it is necessary to correspond.

Established public opinion acts on the mind of the individual. Stereotypes impede the objective perception of the world. A person evaluates any event through the prism of prejudice, prejudice, standards. Fixed views have a big impact on people. In similar situations, they show the same reaction. The stereotype does not carry any useful power. Often it is negative and aimed at ridiculing habits, characteristics of people, their opinions.

The perception of a person occurs according to one of the signs, his individual characteristics are not taken into account. The basis is taken by the profession, appearance, nationality, age, gender. For example, all medical workers are callous individuals, all gypsies are thieves and deceivers, handsome men always cheat on their wives. The stereotype of thinking does not even allow us to think that in reality there are many people who do not correspond to the labels attached.

Stamped images are found in various areas of life: a difficult teenager, a weak woman, a strict boss, a snickering deputy, a groomed bachelor, a dishonest seller. Template thinking generates reference models of actions.

An individual who has no experience in a particular issue, listens to public opinion and trusts stereotypes. Society introduces into the human mind some way of judgments, thoughts. Stamped phrases like “there is no ordinary friendship between a woman and a man”, “all guys want only sex from girls”, “all secretaries are boss’s mistresses”, “old men always grumble”, “men never cry” begin to be fixed in my head. On the one hand, well-established stereotyped ideas about the world help a person to exist in a social environment, on the other hand, they generate stereotypical thinking, often accompanied by a destructive effect.

The mechanism of the origin of stereotyped mental activity lies in the experience gained from the past. A person adopts standard schemes, a simplified understanding of the environment. The fixed result is transmitted from generation to generation. It is fixed in the minds of people, rooted in society. The experience of an individual can become a social model of society.

Stereotypes usually reflect the individual's ideas about himself or about the people around him, about another social group. The standard of the act of thought has many varieties.

• Polar (black and white) thinking does not allow any compromise in dividing the world into good and bad phenomena and events.
• Catastrophic is seen in any future events, the future is presented in gloomy tones and is characterized by extremely negative forecasts.
• Depreciation all positive emotions is in the spotlight solely on their own failures and inability to notice positive phenomena.
• Selective thinking Allows the individual to isolate only failure and negative events from everything that happened to the individual.
• Emotional surge able to arouse a person’s confidence in stereotyped thoughts caused by his feelings.
• Labeling on surrounding people is to create a stereotype in relation to a specific person or certain social groups.
• Excessive generalization events leads the individual to the belief that negative experiences will always manifest themselves in similar situations.
• Personalization manifests itself in the acceptance at your own expense of any negative statements of other persons, exposing your own person as the cause of all troubles.
• Tunnel thinking makes the individual notice only cons, and ignore the pros.
• Minimizing mindset perceives all positive phenomena negatively.
• The belief that others are required act on the given patterns, deviation from which is not allowed.

Stereotypical thinking is aimed at simplifying the thought process, because a person does not need to strain his brains. Certain stamps rooted in the mind are much easier to think. Templates and cliches form a simplified view of surrounding objects and phenomena. Predictability of the further action of a person appears, the possibility of modeling his behavior.

The stereotype of thinking leads to the loss of personality. A person adapts to a specific model of behavior, equals to some pattern. This leads to the depersonalization of others, which prevents the building of a full-fledged relationship.

The stereotype of the thought process contributes to the awakening of fear due to fear of condemnation of actions or words by people around. A person is afraid to perform any action that runs counter to generally accepted notions. He is afraid to express his opinion once again, so as not to lose the approval and recognition from society.

Destroying stereotypes is much harder than creating them. It can be difficult for people to abandon opinions that are ingrained in society and decide to innovate. To implement the destruction of stereotypical thinking it is necessary to get rid of the standard train of thought. Gradual departure from the prevailing template thought process helps the person to open up to a greater extent. Getting rid of prejudice gives joy to life. Thanks to this, the ability to perceive the friendliness of people and the attractiveness of the world is formed. To get rid of the stereotypic thinking, it is important to take a series of actions.

Perceive the world without evaluation. Labeling limits personal freedom. Learn to watch people around you without comment. Try to get rid of obsessive beliefs such as "all blondes are characterized by natural stupidity", "all men are prone to treason", and "unmarried women are single and unhappy." Learn to notice in people their good qualities, do not look for negative aspects in them. Try to find a highlight in every person you meet on your way. Do not reject people belonging to another cohort or anything else different from you.

Develop the ability to accept the opposite point of view, even if it does not fit into your ideas in any way. Develop tolerance for the opinions of others. Any person can defend their own positions and opinions.

Do not listen to the opinion imposed on you from the outside. A person who is free from stereotypes will not tell you what you should do and what you should refuse. Do not believe gossip, rumors, slander. They often contain false information. Trust your sixth sense, intuition. Convince yourself that no one needs your approval. All people are different and they can behave as they like. Accept this fact, try mentally putting yourself in their place.

Control your movements. Look for standard and originality among them. The search for stereotypes and originality in one’s own actions helps to destroy many common stereotypes. Broaden your horizons. Learn new cultures, communicate with people of different national and religious affiliations. Fresh thoughts and new knowledge contribute to a change in outlook on life. They do not completely eliminate the use of stamps and clichés, but significantly expand the boundaries of the thought process.

Meditations help to look at the situation from the side, free consciousness from extraneous influence. A person has the opportunity to reason in a calm environment, to rid the mind of obsessive template ideas.

This control leads to ability to listen to the inner voice. Ignore the imposition of negative facts and information, which are based on panic and fear. Get rid of your own assessments and categorical judgments. Train the flexibility of your mental activity. Controlling your own thoughts helps you focus on thinking and abstract from stereotypes. Reasonable reasoning is unknowingly subjected to stereotyped influence.

Such questions enable a person to look at the situation from the side and soberly assess it. They contribute to the recognition of the problem, attempts to correct the situation and self-development. You need to develop the habit of asking yourself the most diverse questions: “What does this insult give me?”, “Why do I avoid such situations?”, “Why do I want to experience such emotions?”