4 positive and negative stereotypes - AWS

Contents
Warm-ups
Austrian stereotypes and stereotypes in advertisements and
jokes, explanations and definitions
 mind-map, group discussion, working with pictures, a joke,
oral exam: individual long turn
Vocabulary and Language
a map of European stereotypes, stereotypes in entertainment
media and advertisements
Article: “How Europeans stereotype one another, in one chart”
 conducting a poll, adjectives to describe people, language in
use, comparison of adjectives
Europeans in stereotypes
the most popular European stereotypes
 spidergrammes, vocabulary work, matching exercise, personal
interviews and critical reflection
Positive and negative
stereotypes
Article: “Why stereotypes are bad even when they’re ‘good’”
 vocabulary work, answer questions and summarize
information, true/false + false statements corrected, comment
on a cartoon, memory, matching headlines and discussing
articles
Students will
 learn and talk about stereotypes in general, stereotypes in advertisements, the media and jokes,
positive and negative stereotypes
 focus on European stereotypes and reflect on the most popular European stereotypes
 discuss information and come up with their own ideas
 scan newspaper articles for information, rephrase and summarize them
 study and get to know words and phrases, focus on adjectives and revise the comparison of
adjectives
 revise skills used in the centralised written as well as oral exam (Standardisierte Reifeprüfung Neu)
STEREOTYPES
1
WARM-UPS
1A
Get together in small groups and study the mind map below. What does it refer to?
Which word(s) should go into the empty box in the middle? Share and discuss your ideas
in class. Then come up with additional words or ideas to expand the mind map.
Mozart
mountains
_________________
the Trapp
family
Kaiserschmarren
1B
Divide your class into six groups. Each group is provided with one of the following
pictures of the former Austrian advertising campaign “Joe & Sally”. Study your picture
and discuss the questions below. Then present and compare your results in class.

What is the message conveyed by your advertising picture?

To which extent does the picture reflect a typical stereotype of Austria?

Why, according to your opinion, does the campaign use penguins?

Which target group does the advertisement address?

What’s the role of stereotypes in advertisements more generally? Try to come up with some
examples.
2
STEREOTYPES
Sources: Picture 1: http://www.ifmg.at/unternehmen/oesterreich-werbung/, Picture 2: https://zif.spz.tu-darmstadt.de/jg10-3/beitrag/Holzner1.htm, Picture 3: http://www.rollingpin.at/artikel/endlich-oesterreich-679-1-102, Picture 4:
http://derstandard.at/1552955, Picture 5: http://www.koeln-stadt.de/cgibin/end_branchen.pl?SDT=26&BRA=577&EID=1611, Picture 6: http://www.ifmg.at/unternehmen/oesterreich-werbung/
(November 2014)
3
STEREOTYPES
1C
Get together in small groups and discuss the following questions. Present and compare
your results in class.

What is a stereotype?

How do stereotypes develop?

How do stereotypes affect people’s lives? Try to come up with some examples.

Can you think of any events in history that were influenced by stereotypes?

How do people learn to make stereotypes? How might they unlearn them?

Do you think certain groups are more subject to stereotyping than others? If so, why?

What do you think an individual can do to help reduce stereotyping?
4
STEREOTYPES
1D
Stereotypes – what are we talking about? Read
through the following text and choose from the
list (A-J) the correct part for each gap (1-8). There
are two extra words that you should not use.
Write your answers in the boxes provided. Then
compare your own definition from 1C with this
one. Discuss in class.
Stereotypes are beliefs about people based on their membership in a particular group. Stereotypes can
be positive, negative, or neutral. Stereotypes based on gender, ethnicity, or occupation are common in
many societies.
The stability of stereotypes
Stereotypes are not easily (1) ________________, for the following reasons:

When people encounter instances that do not conform their stereotypes of a particular
group, they tend to assume that those instances are atypical subtypes of the group.
Example: Ben stereotypes gay men as being unathletic. When he meets Al, an athletic gay man, he
assumes that Al is not a typical representative of gay people.

People’s perceptions are (2) ________________ by their expectations.
Example: Liz has a stereotype of elderly people as mentally unstable. When she sees an elderly
woman sitting on a park bench alone, talking out loud, she thinks that the woman is talking to herself
because she is (3) ________________. Liz fails to notice that the woman is actually talking on a cell
phone.

People selectively remember instances that confirm their stereotypes and forget about
instances that do not conform.
Example: Paul has a (4) ________________ of Polish people as academically unmotivated. As
evidence for his belief, he cites instances when some of his Polish classmates failed to read required
class material. He fails to remember all the times his Polish classmates did complete their
assignments.
Functions
Stereotypes have several important (5) ________________:

They allow people to quickly process new information about an event or person.

They organize people’s past experiences.

They help people to understand differences between individuals and groups.

They help people to make predictions about other people’s (6) ________________.
Dangers



Stereotypes cause people to exaggerate differences among groups.
They lead people to focus selectively on information that (7) ________________ with the
stereotype and ignore information that disagrees with it.
They tend to make people see other groups as overly homogeneous *, even though people
can easily see that the groups they belong to are not (8) ________________.
Adapted from: http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/socialpsychology/section2.rhtml (July 18th, 2014)
*homogenous - all the same or all of the same type
(opposite: heterogeneous)
5
STEREOTYPES
1
1E
A
stereotype
B
homogeneous
C
influenced
D
mentally
E
influence
F
changed
G
functions
H
agrees
I
unstable
J
behaviour
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Get together in small teams. Read through the joke below and fill in the blanks. Make
your own decisions about which European nationality should go into which blank. Then
ask your teacher for the solution and compare it to your own version of the joke.
Together discuss the role of stereotypes in jokes and whether you think they are just
harmless fun or actually offensive and provoke racism.
Heaven is where the cooks are ___________,
the police are ___________,
the mechanics are ___________,
the lovers are ___________
and everything is organized by the ___________.
Hell is where the cooks are ___________,
the police are ___________,
the mechanics are ___________,
the lovers are ___________,
and everything is organized by the ___________.
Source joke: http://www.nationalstereotype.com/you-are-not-your-country-top-10-national-stereotypes/
(Nov 11th, 2014)
6
STEREOTYPES
1F
Individual long turn: You are supposed to talk about the following pictures for five
minutes. Do the following three tasks.

Describe, compare and contrast the two pictures.

Discuss their main message.

Express your personal opinion about European stereotypes. Where do they come from, how
true might they be, and how can one best deal with them?
Source: http://eurokulture.missouri.edu/disproving-german-stereotypes-by-a-german/ (November 25th, 2014)
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/26/german-stereotypes-dont-mention-towels
(November 25th, 2014)
7
STEREOTYPES
2
VOCABULARY AND LANGUAGE
2A
Get together in small teams and discuss the picture below. Do you understand all the
ideas mentioned and can you also relate to them? Whose perspective does the picture
take? Present and compare your ideas in class.
Source: http://picc.it/c/artistic/pictures/album/map-porn_36386/id/4826191/@a_map_of_stereotypes_in_europe
(November 15th, 2014)
2B
Entertainment media and advertisements often use and support stereotypes. They
depend on these characterizations to create a common understanding of events or as a
basis for humour.
Try to find and collect stereotypical images and descriptions used in the media. Examples
might include cut-out pictures of magazines, advertisements, movie clips, etc. Present and
discuss your findings in class.
8
STEREOTYPES
2C
Adjectives to describe people: First study the table and make sure you understand all the
words used. Then form small groups of three to four students and cut out the words and
their descriptions. Play memory and stick to the following rules: Shuffle the cards. - Lay
them in rows*. - Choose any two cards. - If the two cards match, keep them. - If they
don't match, put them back. - Remember what was on each card and where it was. - The
game is over when all the cards have been matched. - The player with the most matches
wins.
* In a first step, you may place the cards face up. In your final round, they should be played face down,
however.
ambitious
determined to be successful, rich, powerful, etc.
arrogant
behaving in a proud, unpleasant way, showing little thought for other
people
compassionate
feeling or showing sympathy for people who are suffering
competitive
trying very hard to be better than others
considerate
always thinking of other people’s wishes and feelings; careful not to hurt
or upset others
determined
having made a firm decision to do sth and not willing to let anyone
prevent you
hard-working
putting a lot of effort into a job and doing it well
independent
not connected with or influenced by sth or sb
individualistic
being different from other people and doing things in your own way
innovative
introducing or using new ideas, ways of doing sth, etc.
outgoing
liking to meet other people, enjoying their company and being friendly
towards them
passionate
having or showing strong feelings of enthusiasm for sth or belief in sth
patriotic
having or expressing a great love of your country
polite
having or showing good manners and respect for the feelings of others
productive
doing or achieving a lot
reliable
that can be trusted to do sth well; that you can rely on
romantic
having an attitude to life where imagination and the emotions are
especially important
sensitive
aware of and able to understand other people and their feelings
trustworthy
that you can rely on to be good, honest, sincere, etc
Source of descriptions: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
9
STEREOTYPES
2D
Work in research teams and conduct a poll among the pupils of your school. Ask them
which EU nation they think is most and least trustworthy, most and least arrogant and
most and least compassionate (i.e. six questions in total).
Then designate six new groups that focus on one of the six questions and prepare a graphic
representation of the answers gathered. Present and discuss the results in class.
2E
You are goint to read a text about how Europeans stereotype one another. Some words
are missing from the text. Choose from the list (A-N) the correct part for each gap (1-11)
in the text. There are two extra words that you should not use. Write your answers in
the boxes provided. The first one (0) has been done for you.
How Europeans stereotype one
another, in one chart
By Max Fisher, May 14, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/14/how-europeansstereotype-one-another-in-one-chart/
Europeans are developing some very
strong (0) ... about Germany, which
many call the most trustworthy, most
arrogant
and
least
compassionate
nation in Europe, according to a
fascinating new study by Pew.
The
polling
firm's
report
on
European attitudes shows declining
(Q1) ... toward the European Union
and,
perhaps
as
a
result,
increasingly
complicated
feelings
This chart summarizes Pew's
findings on whom Europeans
consider to be the most and
least trustworthy, arrogant and
compassionate. The results are
about Germany, the country
seen as the (Q2) ... of
the
union.
The
euro
crisis, Pew says, appears
to be exacerbating longheld views about Germans
and "reinforcing general
(Q3) ... among Europeans
about each other."
pretty revealing. Here are a
few (Q4) ...:
• Germans are considered by far
the most trustworthy. Everyone
trusts Germans above all other
10
STEREOTYPES
nationalities, except (Q5) ...
the Greeks, who say Greeks are
the most trustworthy. Only
Greeks and Germans voted
themselves the most
trustworthy. In France, 43
percent call Germans
trustworthy.
trustworthy. Germans and
Spanish agree.
• Poland has some of the (Q9)
... feelings about Germany,
which is perhaps unsurprising
given their history,
identifying Germans as uncompassionate and arrogant.
Oddly, Poles identify Germany
as both the most and least
trustworthy nation in the
European Union.
• Germans are also seen as the
most arrogant, but France is a
close second. The French are
identified (Q6) ... the most
arrogant in Germany, the U.K.
and, weirdly, in France itself.
It's not clear why French
people would call themselves
the most arrogant; is it a
badge of honor, perhaps?
• Everyone sees themselves as
the (Q10) ... arrogant, except
for Czechs who give their
former co-nationals in Slovakia
(the two countries were once
joined as Czechoslovakia) that
honor.
• Only the Brits, who have
hinted for some time that they
may leave the Union, challenge
the Germans in lack (Q7) ...
compassion, according to
European poll respondents.
• "People of every nationality
consider themselves to be the
most compassionate people in
Europe," Pew finds. This is one
of many datapoints for Pew's
suggestion that "Selfcongratulation is common across
Europe, while self-criticism is
in short supply." That (Q11)
... does not seem to bode well
for the sort of intra-European
compromising necessary to
resolve the crisis.
"Greek enmity toward the
Germans knows little bound,"
according to Pew's report on
their survey. Other European
countries rate Greece poorly
(Q8) ... trustworthiness.
• Italians say that their
country is the least
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
0
Q1
least
stereotypes
to
feelings
on
for
emotions
confidence
as
observations
attitude
strongest
center
of
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
D
11
Q6
Q7
Q8
Q9
Q10
Q11
STEREOTYPES
2F
Get together in small groups and share your thoughts about the article. Compare your
own findings from exercise 2D with the information provided in the article. Comment on
the similarities and differences that you find. Finally share and discuss your ideas in
class.
2G
Comparison of adjectives: Study the rules of comparison and then fill in the blanks
below.

Monosyllabic adjectives are compared with -er, -est.

Disyllabic adjectives ending with y, er, ow, le are compared with -er, -est.

All the other adjectives are compared with more, most.

Special adjectives can be compared with -er, -est and more, most: clever, common, likely,
pleasant, polite, quite, stupid, sure, subtle, simple

Irregular forms include good (better - best), bad (worse - worst), much (more - most), many
(more - most), little (less – least)
Source of information: http://www.english-4u.de/comparison.htm (November 14th, 2014)
arrogant
worst
most careful
clever
common
compassionate
easier
fattest
better
late
more
narrow
nicest
quiet
small
strong
stupid
terrible
tired
trustworthy
12
STEREOTYPES
3
EUROPEANS IN STEREOTYPES
3A
Split your class in small teams. Each team chooses one European country and tries to
come up with a stereotype spidergramme of the nationality chosen. Do not mention
your country’s name in the spidergramme!
Then place your spidergrammes around your class, study the spidergrammes of the
other groups and try to guess the chosen country. Can you add more ideas? Discuss your
results in class.
13
STEREOTYPES
3B
Do you know what the words preconception and misconception mean? Study the table
and find out. Then read through the short text and underline the correct words.
explanation
an idea or opinion that is formed
before you have enough
information or experience
preconception
misconception
(about sth)
examples and phrases
a book that will challenge your
preconceptions about rural life
a popular misconception (= one that
a lot of people have)  Let me deal
with some common
misconceptions.  views based on
misconception and prejudice
a belief or an idea that is not based
on correct information
Source of descriptions: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
Europe has always been full of stereotypes. It is to some (1) effect
/
extent
/
way
fun
and
fascinating
to
see
how
the
different
preconceptions differ from one country to another. French are (2)
said / talked / answered to be snob, Brits well mannered, and Germans
hardworkers… All these stereotypes and misconceptions don’t learn us
much on our European neighbors, as they most of the (3) duration /
length / time tend to be false, but they learn us more on the way we
tend to see the others. If not taken seriously, stereotypes show
actually that Europeans need to develop an image of their neighbors,
the worst would be to have no (4) concern / interest / sight in other
nations. The main reasons for this article are partly that we think
stereotypes in general are one of the most important things to be (5)
aware
/
knowledge
/
familiar
of,
so
as
to
be
able
to
avoid
preconceptions. But pay attention not to take them seriously…
Text adapted from: http://europeisnotdead.com/video/images-of-europe/european-stereotypes/ (July 18th, 2014)
14
STEREOTYPES
3C
Do the matching exercise about the most popular European stereotypes. First
make sure you understand all the words and phrases given in the third
column. Then try to match the nationality in the first column with the correct
picture in the second column and the appropriate description in the third column.
Compare and discuss your results in class.
Warning: The following table contains stereotypes! Do not take them too seriously!!!
GERMANY
Class-conscious football fans and bingedrinkers, living of past imperial glories, resent
being in Europe rather than ruling the world, a
lot of rain and bad food
B
GREECE
Rustic, patriotic and unsophisticated fish-eater
with lamentable manners and muddy boots or
wealthy, rational and enlightened protestants
with strong welfare states
C
SPAIN
Humourless hardworkers in Lederhose and
Dirndl, importance of domestic life, into winter
sports and well off financially
D
ALBANIA
Hairy gay gossipers, tight on money, loud and
carefree smokers, mamma’s boys and daddy’s
girls
A
15
STEREOTYPES
POLAND
chatterboxes and bad listeners interested only
in the sound of their own voices, good-looking,
crazy about fashion, football addicts who
never pay taxes, incredible coffee culture, love
pizza and pasta with spaghetti and pasta being
almost sacred, people often say: “mamma
mia!” or “va fan culo!” and Mamma rules the
roost*
F
AUSTRIA
Paprika lovers and heavy smokers, poor people
who live with nothing, patriotic, play soccer
like every other sport, and love dancing,
whatever the age, traditional especially with
families, love Croatians, Slovenians and
especially Italians and dislike Greek and
Serbian people
G
CROATIA
Car lovers and humourless hardworkers, harsh
and unromantic language
NETHERLANDS
Bad-mannered goulash eaters with a pushy
and intrusive behaviour – especially when
abroad, self-centred people who do not
cooperate easily and have often contradictory
opinions, speaking a language hard to learn for
foreigners
I
NORWAY
people with little or no motivation to work in
order to improve their living conditions, also
lack organisational skills and have no business
sense, warlike and superstitious nation, men
are womanizers
J
SERBIA
Pretty women, beer and absinth drinkers,
dumpling eaters, homeland of Skoda and
crystal
E
H
16
STEREOTYPES
UNITED
KINGDOM
Liberal and stoned, tall, have blond hair and
blue eyes, gay capital of Europe, more bicycles
than inhabitants, keep a tight watch over their
money and men are unlikely to pay for their
dates
HUNGARY
arrogant and rude snobs, strikers and the
world’s best lovers, people wearing berets
while riding bicycles with baskets full of
baguettes
ITALY
very tall, beautiful and blonde people with blue
eyes, often drunk, arrogant and unfriendly,
living in a progressive, feminist and liberal
country with good social welfare, women can
easily make a career and have children at the
same time
N
CZECH
REPUBLIC
Macho muslims driving Mercedes, ruled by the
sharia (the Islamic law), having big families,
strong patriarchal society with women being
obliged to listen to their husbands, good at
business
O
IRELAND
Talkative and quarrelsome patriots, friendly
nation but also loud and rude
K
L
M
17
STEREOTYPES
P
TURKEY
Fiesta, siesta, stunning women and macho
men, loud and lazy people with a passionate
character, bullfights
Q
FRANCE
the land of vampires and Roma, speaking
Russian as their mother tongue
R
SWEDEN
Heavy drinkers and red hair Catholics, badtempered fighters for autonomy
S
SLOVENIA
Catholic fanatics, hard drinkers
ROMANIA
Bilingual and introverted Balkan people who
integrated the Western way of life and
consumer society, mixture of many European
nations and cultures, jealous and selfish people
who complain a lot, melancholic and romantic,
very disciplined and honest, introverted and
cold but open to foreigners, good at learning
languages
T
Source: http://europeisnotdead.com/video/images-of-europe/european-stereotypes/ (November 11th, 2014)
*rule the roost - (informal) to be the most powerful member of a group
18
STEREOTYPES
3D
Now work in small teams and choose a nationality from the
list in exercise 3C that you personally know a representative
of. Then write interview questions using the information
given in column 3. In the simplest from this could be “Do
you love cars?” for a German man or woman or “Do you
speak Russian as your mother tongue?” for a Romanian
man or woman.
Then get in contact with the respective person and ask
him or her your questions. Report back to your class and
discuss your findings with your teacher.
http://th02.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/
140/f/e/nationality_poster_by_sylvaknightd50ivha.jpg
19
STEREOTYPES
4
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES
4A
The words in the first column have been taken from the article in 4B. Scan the text,
locate the words and make sure you understand their meaning
pernicious
(formal) having a very harmful effect
on sb/sth, especially in a way that is
gradual and not easily noticed
prowess
(formal) great skill at doing sth
academic / sporting prowess
affirmative action
positive discrimination
the practice or policy of making
sure that a particular number of
jobs, etc. are given to people
from groups that are often
treated unfairly because of their
race, sex, etc.
(right) on cue
at exactly the moment you expect or
that is appropriate
‘Where is that boy?’ As if on cue,
Simon appeared in the doorway.
upfront (about sth)
not trying to hide what you think or do
He’s been upfront about his
intentions since the beginning.
complimentary
(about sth)
expressing admiration, praise, etc.:
a complimentary remark  She
was extremely complimentary
about his work.
to purport
(formal) to claim to be sth or to have
done sth, when this may not be true
The book does not purport to be a
complete history of the period.
time-honoured
respected because it has been used or
done for a long time
They showed their approval in the
time-honoured way (= by
clapping, for example)
phony, phoney
(informal) not real or true; false, and
trying to trick people
She spoke with a phoney Russian
accent.
chivalry
polite and kind behaviour that shows a
sense of honour, especially by men
towards women
rejoinder
(formal) a reply, especially a quick,
critical or amusing one
Source of explanations: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
20
STEREOTYPES
4B
Now read the text on positive and negative stereotypes and do the tasks below.
Why stereotypes are bad
even when they're 'good'
Negative stereotypes - about women, black people, immigrants, etc are easy to spot. More pernicious are the positive ones
By Oliver Burkeman, December 12, 2012
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/oliver-burkemans-blog/2012/dec/12/stereotypes-bad-evenwhen-good
Usain Bolt of Jamaica winning the
men's Olympic 100m final in Beijing,
2008:
a
study
shows
that
the
'positive'
stereotype
of
black
athletic prowess results in people
holding more negative views of black
people. Photograph: Vladimir Rys/Getty
Images
When
affirmative
action
and
gay
marriage are both dominating the
headlines (on both sides of the
Atlantic,
in
the
case
of
gay
marriage), you know that stereotypes
posing as scholarship won't be far
behind. And, right on cue, here's the
University of Texas law professor Lino
Graglia, an opponent of affirmative
action, speculating about "cultures of
failure"
in
black
and
Hispanic
households. Is there any, you know,
evidence for his argument?
He's fairly upfront about admitting
that
he
doesn't
know.
It's
a
stereotype: that's how they work.
21
Liberal-minded types are good
at spotting, and calling out,
this kind of stereotype. But
we're less good when it comes
to "positive" stereotypes: the
idea that black people are
just
naturally
better
at
sports, say, or that women are
more in touch with their
emotions. These don't seem so
pernicious,
since
their
content,
after
all,
is
complimentary.
But
a
fascinating new study led by
Aaron Kay, a psychologist at
Duke University [...], suggests they
might be worse.
The study centered on fake articles
purporting to show evidence for three
of the most time-honoured stereotypes
about black people: that they're less
intelligent, more prone to violence,
and better at sports. (None of the
study
participants
were
black
themselves.)
Unsurprisingly,
being
exposed to this phony "evidence" made
people more likely to believe the
stereotypes. But the surprise was in
the differences between people exposed
to the negative stereotypes and the
positive one.
First, the article claiming to show
superior athletic ability among black
people
was
more
likely
to
be
unquestioningly accepted as true: it
seemed
to
fly
under
people's
stereotype-detecting radars. Second,
the positive stereotype seemed more
likely to lead people to believe that
STEREOTYPES
differences between blacks and whites
were biological in origin.
"When
social
scientists
discover
something
that
increases
life
satisfaction for both sexes," he
writes, "shouldn't they at least
consider the possibility that they
have come across something that is
positive?
Healthy?
Something
that
might even conceivably be grounded in
the nature of Homo sapiens?"
And third: when asked to estimate the
probability that a hypothetical series
of people with typically AfricanAmerican names might commit a crime,
people
exposed
to
the
positive
stereotype rated that possibility as
higher than did those exposed to a
negative one. The positive stereotype
("good at athletics") apparently led
to stronger negative beliefs about
black people than the negative one
("prone
to
violence").
Positive
stereotypes, the researchers write,
"may
be
uniquely
capable
at
reinforcing cultural stereotypes and
beliefs that people explicitly eschew
as racist and harmful."
There are quite a
few possible
rejoinders to this, but the study by
Kay and his colleagues hints at one
more. Were its findings to generalise
to this area - and they might not, of
course
you would expect this
positive
stereotype
("women
are
naturally more deserving of respect")
to be associated with more negative
stereotypical beliefs about women,
too; and also with the idea that women
are more enslaved to their biology
than are men.
In light of all that, consider this
week's much-commented-upon essay at
the Atlantic by Emily Esfahani Smith,
entitled "Let's Give Chivalry Another
Chance". You could think of chivalry
as resting on a sort of "positive
moral stereotype": that women are
especially deserving of kindness and
respect. Critics call this benevolent
sexism: sure, it involves being kind
to people, but it still involves
relating to those people primarily as
members of a demographic category, not
as individuals. Smith, apparently with
approval, quotes American sociology's
stereotype-promoter-in-chief, Charles
Murray, mocking this notion. Some
research, he points out, suggests that
"gentlemanly behaviour" makes both men
and women happier.
a)
The problem with stereotypes isn't
only
their
content.
It's
the
stereotyping.
In short: stereotypes are bad! "It's a
lesson we all learned in a fourthgrade
assembly
through
an
excruciatingly uncool performance by a
collegiate theatre group," Horowitz
writes. (We've all been there.) The
part that's easy to forget is that
they're bad even when - perhaps
especially when - they're "good".
.
Answer the questions and complete the sentences.
The article mentions examples of positive as well as negative stereotypes. List these
examples and try to find one more example each yourself.
......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
22
STEREOTYPES
According to the study mentioned in the article, positive stereotypes are more easily
accepted because ...
......................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................................
What does the author mean when saying that chivalry is also based on a positive
stereotype?
..........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
b)
Now read through the text again and decide whether the following statements are true
(T) or false (F). Correct the false statements.
T
1
Stereotypes are bad generally, but positive stereotypes are better than negative stereotypes.
2
The study by Aaron Kay proves that black people are more likely to act violently than white
people.
3
The study by Aaron Kay suggests that positive stereotyping helps to view others more positively.
4
According to the article, gentlemanly behaviour is based on the idea that women deserve more
respect and kindness than man.
5
Positive stereotypes support the view that the differences between people are biologically
determined.
False statements corrected:
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
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F
STEREOTYPES
c)
Work in pairs and summarize the main message of the text in 4-5 sentences.
.........................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................
24
STEREOTYPES
4C
Look at the cartoon and write a comment. You can choose the form of the comment: an
inner monologue of one of the characters in the cartoon, a dialogue between two
characters, a newspaper article about the situation, your own opinion, a diary entry, etc.
Source: http://ac2013.eu/annual-congress-2013/trainings/typical-european-coping-with-stereotypes-interculturalcommunication/ (July 18th, 2014)
Your comment
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
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STEREOTYPES
4D
Memory: First read through and study the terms related to stereotypes. Then work
together in groups of three to four students and cut the terms into pieces. Shuffle the
individual cards thoroughly and place them face down on your table. Then player 1 turns
over any two cards to see if they match each other. If they match, the player keeps
them. If they do not match, the player turns the cards face down again in the same
location. Then the next player takes his or her turn. The player with the most cards at
the end of the game is the winner.
assumption
a belief or feeling that
sth is true or that sth
will happen, although
there is no proof
individuals
considered separately
rather than as part of a
group
bias
a strong feeling in
favour of or against
one group of people,
or one side in an
argument, often not
based on fair
judgement
oversimplification
description that is too
simple and ignores
some of the facts
differences
the way in which two
people or things are
not like each other
inclusive
including a wide range
of people, things,
ideas, etc
ignorant
lacking knowledge or
information about sth
discrimination
ethnicity
the practice of treating
sb or a particular group
in society less fairly
than others
the fact of belonging
to a particular race
gay
sexually attracted to
people of the same sex
26
STEREOTYPES
prejudice
an unreasonable
dislike of or preference
for a person, group,
custom, etc.,
especially when it is
based on their race,
religion, sex, etc.:
race
one of the main groups
that humans can be
divided into according
to their physical
differences, for
example the colour of
their skin
racism
the unfair treatment of
people who belong to
a different race;
violent behaviour
towards them
generalization
a general statement
that is based on only a
few facts or examples
misconception
a belief or an idea that
is not based on correct
information, or that is
not understood by
people
image
the impression that a
person, an
organization or a
product, etc. gives to
the public
Source of explanations: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
4E
Match the headlines with the correct extract from the articles. Then get together in
small groups and guess what the articles might be about more generally. Afterwards,
split your class into two groups and read the complete articles online. Discuss why
stereotyping is bad according to your articles and present your ideas to the rest of the
class.
Negative stereotypes 'hurting
teenage job prospects'
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26230410
Boys 'worse at
school due to
stereotypes'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9862473/Boys-worse-at-school-due-to-stereotypes.html
Researchers also found that the children believed adults shared the same opinion as them, meaning that
boys felt they were not expected by their parents and teachers to do as well as girls and lost their
motivation or confidence as a result.
“Teenagers are motivated to make a difference in their community but the approach they take is radically
different to previous generations," said Mr Birdwell.
27
STEREOTYPES
1D
1F, 2C, 3I, 4A, 5G, 6J, 7H, 8B
1E
Heaven is where the cooks are French,
the police are British,
the mechanics are German,
the lovers are Italian
and everything is organized by the Swiss.
Hell is where the cooks are British,
the police are German,
the mechanics are French,
the lovers are Swiss,
and everything is organized by the Italians.
2E
0
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Q6
Q7
Q8
Q9
Q10
Q11
D
H
M
B
J
F
I
N
E
L
A
K
2G
arrogant
more arrogant
most arrogant
bad
worse
worst
careful
more careful
most careful
clever
cleverer/more clever
cleverest/most clever
common
commoner/more common
commonest/most common
compassionate
more compassionate
most compassionate
easy
easier
easiest
fat
fatter
fattest
good
better
best
late
later
latest
many
more
most
narrow
narrower
narrowest
nice
nicer
nicest
quiet
quieter/more quiet
quietest/most quiet
small
smaller
smallest
strong
stronger
strongest
stupid
stupider/more stupid
stupidest/most stupid
terrible
more terrible
most terrible
tired
more tired
most tired
trustworthy
more trustworthy
most trustworthy
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STEREOTYPES
3B
1 extent, 2 said, 3 time, 4 interest, 5 aware
3C
Germany: 2E, 3G  Greece: 2Q, 3D  Spain: 2I, 3P  Albania: 2K, 3F  Poland: 2L, 3S  Austria:
2M, 3C  Croatia: 2H, 3O  Netherlands: 2T, 3K  Norway: 2C, 3B  Serbia: 2S, 3I  United Kingdom:
2R, 3A  Hungary: 2O, 3H  Italy: 2P, 3E  Czech Republic: 2B, 3J  Ireland: 2G, 3R  Turkey: 2J, 3N 
France: 2A, 3L  Sweden: 2D, 3M  Slovenia: 2N, 3T  Romania: 2F, 3Q
4b
1F, 2F, 3F, 4T, 5T
29
STEREOTYPES
Impressum
Medieninhaber und Herausgeber
AWS Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wirtschaft und Schule im Rahmen des
Instituts für Bildungsforschung der Wirtschaft
Wiedner Hauptstraße 63, 1045 Wien, wko.at/aws
Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wirtschaft und Schule (AWS) ist eine Initiative von Wirtschaftskammer Österreich
und Österreichischem Sparkassenverband und ist als Projekt am Institut für Bildungsforschung der
Wirtschaft (ibw), Rainergasse 38, 1050 angesiedelt.
Leiter: Mag. Josef Wallner
Autorinnen:
Mag. Angelika Jezek-Breiteneder
Redaktion
Gudrun Dietrich
Cover
www.design.at
30