On 24 Nov 96 at 23:09, David C. Rupley, Jr. wrote:
> Rings a chord for me.
>
> The trouble on occasion is that stereotypes are accurate and we are
> reenforced to hold on to them. Reducing and categorizing as we go.
>
> Complexity is more rich, but harder to feel comfortable with.
How true. I agree that stereotypes are often at least partly right, and
perhaps partly wrong...almost by definition.
Reminds me of the concept of "superstitious behaviour" suggested by
Skinner (actually by his pigeons). He noticed that his pigeons were
developing very weird behaviours, head bobs, dances and so on associated
with feeding time and their own pecking at the bar behaviour. The pigeons
had somehow associated these bizarre behaviours as something required to
receive their food, accidentally, when no real association existed.
The stereotyping is a way of reducing the level of complexity we need to
entertain to function, and while they reduce the amount of information we
need to use, they also become barriers to learning, because "we seek no
more"...just like the pigeons.
Robert Bacal, Bacal & Associates, rbacal@escape.ca
Join us at our Resource Centre at
http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb.ca/~dbt359
Phone: (204) 888-9290
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