Stereotype as a phenomenon of cultural space. National cultural stereotypes: genesis and functions

In understanding the phenomena “linguistic picture of the world” and “value picture of the world” there is a lot important role plays into the concept of “stereotype”. Most dictionaries note that the word “stereotype” has a negative meaning. An example is the definition of a stereotype, which is given by the psychology dictionary compiled by Mike Cordwell: “A stereotype is a rigid, often simplified idea of specific group or categories of people. Since we are generally prone to simplifications, we form stereotypes to make other people’s behavior more predictable. These stereotypes are often negative in nature and based on prejudice and discrimination. Stereotypes are not necessarily false; they usually contain some grain of truth. They are shared by a significant number of people, which generally contributes to their rooting. Stereotypes may change over time, but their bearers often find it difficult to break free from internalized ideas.” [Cordwell 2000: 46]

In the Brief Dictionary of Cognitive Terms we find the following definition: “A stereotype is a standard opinion about social groups or about individuals as representatives of these groups. A stereotype has a logical form of judgment in a sharply simplifying and generalizing form, with emotional coloring attributing separate class persons certain properties or attitudes, or, conversely, denying them these properties or attitudes. Expressed in a sentence like: Italians are musical, Southerners are hot-tempered, professors are absent-minded, etc.” [ Brief dictionary cognitive terms 1997: 198]

The “stereotype” phenomenon is considered not only in the works of psychologists, but also linguists, sociologists, ethnographers, cognitive scientists, ethnopsycholinguists (U. Lippman, Yu.D. Apresyan, Yu.A. Sorokin, Yu.E. Prokhorov, E. Bartminsky, etc. .)

Representatives of each of the named sciences highlight in a stereotype those properties that they notice from the standpoint of their field of study, and therefore social stereotypes, communication stereotypes, mental stereotypes, cultural stereotypes, ethnocultural stereotypes, etc. For example, social stereotypes manifest themselves as stereotypes of thinking and behavior of an individual. Ethnocultural stereotypes are a generalized idea of typical features characterizing any people.

The term “stereotype” (Greek stereos - solid, typos - imprint) was introduced into scientific circulation American sociologist W. Lippman. By stereotype, Lippman understood a special form of perception of the world around us, which has a certain influence on the data of our senses before this data reaches our consciousness. . According to Lippmann, a person, trying to comprehend the world around him in all its inconsistency, creates a “picture in his head” regarding those phenomena that he has not directly observed. A person has a clear idea of most things even before he directly encounters them in life. Such stereotypical ideas are formed under the influence of the cultural environment of a given individual. “In most cases, we do not first see and then give a definition; we first define this or that phenomenon for ourselves, and then we observe it. “.

V.V. Krasnykh understands a stereotype as “the structure of the mental-lingual complex, formed by an invariant set of valence bonds attributed to a given unit and representing the concept of the phenomenon behind this unit” [Krasnykh 2001: 78].

According to Yu.A. Sorokin’s stereotype is “a certain process and result of communication according to certain semiotic models, the list of which is closed due to certain semiotic-technical principles accepted in a certain society. In this case, the semiotic model is implemented at the social, socio-psychological levels (standard) or at the linguistic, socio-psychological levels (norm). Standard and norm exist in two forms: as a stamp (overly explicit complex sign) or as a cliché (insufficiently explicit complex sign) [Sorokin 1998: 56].

Maslova V.A. distinguishes a behavioral stereotype - the most important among stereotypes, which can turn into a ritual. In her opinion, “stereotypes have much in common with traditions, myths, rituals, but they differ from the latter in that traditions and customs are characterized by their objectified significance, openness to others, and stereotypes remain at the level of hidden mentalities that exist among “their own” [Maslova 2001: 208].

V.A. Maslova also emphasizes that “the basis for the formation of ethnic consciousness and culture as regulators of human behavior are both innate and acquired in the process of socialization factors - cultural stereotypes that are acquired from the moment a person begins to identify himself with a certain ethnic group, a certain culture and recognize oneself as their element” [ibid.: 59].

Thus, the formation of stereotypes is based on cognitive processes, and stereotypes perform a number of cognitive functions: the function of schematization and simplification, the function of forming and storing group ideology and other mental functions.

In our study greatest interest represent ethnic stereotypes that embody the inherent ordinary consciousness ideas about one's own and other peoples.

N.V. Ufimtseva differentiates ethnic stereotypes and cultural stereotypes: “ethnic stereotypes are not accessible to self-reflection of a “naive” member of an ethnic group and are facts of behavior and the collective unconscious, they cannot be specially taught, but cultural stereotypes are accessible to self-reflection and are facts of behavior, individual unconscious consciousness, they can already be taught” [Ufimtseva 1996: 140].

Ethnic stereotypes not only summarize certain information, but also express an emotional attitude towards an object. What in relation to one’s own people is called reasonable economy, in relation to others can be called stinginess. What is characterized by “oneself” as perseverance, strength of character by the “stranger” is called stubbornness. The same psychological complex, depending on the relationship to its bearer, can be called spontaneity, carelessness, and irresponsibility [Dictionary of cognitive terms 1997: 189].

The concept of N.A. seems interesting and scientifically substantiated. Erofeev, which is based on historical material. “Ethnic ideas are, as it were, the result of acquired information, the result of its processing and a generalized conclusion from it; they often influence relations between nations, ethnic groups and states." [Erofeev 1982: 11].

The main reason for the development of stereotypes is associated with the protection of group values as a purely social function, realized in the form of affirmation of one’s dissimilarity and specificity. “Stereotypes are a fortress that protects the traditions, views, beliefs, and values of an individual; he is comfortable behind the walls of this fortress, because there he feels safe. Therefore, any attack on stereotypes is an attack on the safety of the individual; he regards such actions as an attack on the foundations of his worldview” [Platonov 2001: 139].

One of central problems that arise when studying stereotypes is how objective they are and how they reflect reality. There is no consensus on this issue. If the stereotype is based on reality, then it should be relatively stable, but if it is completely and completely false, then it should change depending on the historical, international and even internal political situation in a particular country.

There are autostereotypes, which reflect what people think about themselves, and heterostereotypes, which relate to another people, which relate to another people, and they are more critical. For example, what is considered a manifestation of prudence among one’s own people, is considered a manifestation of greed among another people. People perceive ethnocultural stereotypes as models that must be conformed to. Therefore, stereotypes have a fairly strong influence on people, stimulating in them the formation of character traits that are reflected in the stereotype.

“Specialists in ethnic psychology who study ethnocultural stereotypes note that nations located on high level economic development, emphasize such qualities as intelligence, efficiency, enterprise, and nations with more backward economies - kindness, cordiality, hospitality” [Maslova 2001: 58]. This can be confirmed by the research of S.G. Ter-Minasova, according to the results of which professionalism, hard work, responsibility, etc. are more valued in English society, while in Russian society hospitality, sociability, and fairness are more valued [Ter-Minasova 2000: 255].

According to E.Yu. Prokhorov, a stereotype is a super-fixed phenomenon that does not change even in the face of real experience that refutes its truth. [Prokhorov 1997: 124].

According to Maslova V.A. An important role in the formation of stereotypes is played by the frequency of occurrence of certain objects and phenomena in people’s lives, often expressed in longer human contacts with these objects compared to others, which leads to the stereotyping of such objects [Maslova 2001: 109].

For all their schematism and generality, stereotypical ideas about other peoples and other cultures prepare for a collision with a foreign culture and reduce culture shock. “Stereotypes allow a person to form an idea of the world as a whole, to go beyond the boundaries of his narrow social and geographical world” [Pavlovskaya 1998: 139].

Yu. P. Platonov defines a stereotype as “a stable mental formation in which some rather complex fact of reality is reflected in a schematized, simplified and emotional way, primarily the image of some social group or community, easily extended to all its representatives. Stereotypes are sensually colored images that accumulate the social and psychological experience of communication and relationships between individuals” [Platonov 2001: 131].

The most popular source of stereotypical ideas about national characters are the so-called interethnic jokes, that is, jokes built on a template plot: representatives of different nations, finding themselves in the same situation, react to it differently, in accordance with those features of their national character which are attributed to them in the homeland of the joke.

An anecdote, being a text created by the people and for the people, is a reflection of the stereotypes that have developed in a particular linguistic and cultural environment.

Having analyzed the concept of “stereotype” in various sciences, it can be noted that each person has individual personal experience, a special form of perception of the world around him, on the basis of which a so-called “picture of the world” is created in his head, which includes the objective (invariant) part and subjective assessment actually an individual. The stereotype is integral part this picture.

The main feature of stereotypes is their determination by culture - a person’s ideas about the world are formed under the influence of the cultural environment in which he lives. Stereotypes are shared by most people, but they can change depending on the historical, international, and internal political situation in a particular country;

The study of cultural stereotypes, their stability, selection is related to the needs modern life, with the awareness of the fact that, formed by various circumstances, including accidents, limited knowledge, the image of the “other”, “another culture” as a whole, often very far from reality, has the same historical and cultural significance, like reality itself. It is these images that guide many of us in our practical activities. Artificially created images and representations begin to play an active role in shaping the mentality of contemporaries and possibly subsequent generations.

Despite all the stability of stereotypes and, at first glance, sufficient knowledge, their study in every new historical era is important scientific problem, if only because there is a constant pulsation of tension between the traditional installation and its erosion, between the enrichment of new historical facts and rethinking the already known. Despite sufficient attention from researchers to this phenomenon, explaining the nature, emergence and functioning of stereotypes, as well as understanding the term “stereotype” itself is still a problem.

Currently, there is no consensus in scientific thought regarding its content. The term “stereotype” can be found in various contexts where it is interpreted ambiguously: a standard of behavior, an image of a group or person, prejudice, cliche, “sensitivity” to cultural differences, etc. Initially, the term stereotype served to designate a metal plate used in printing to make subsequent copies. Today, under the stereotype in general outline is understood as a relatively stable and simplified image social object, group, person, event, phenomenon, etc., developing in conditions of a lack of information as a result of a generalization of the individual’s personal experience and often preconceived ideas accepted in society.

At the same time, stereotypes are often identified with traditions, customs, myths, and rituals. Despite the unconditional similarity of stereotypes with traditions and customs, it should be noted that stereotypes differ significantly from them in their psychological basis. The functional field of stereotypes lies mainly in the sphere of mental structures, while cultural traditions, customs and myths are the objectified results of their formation, consolidated by rationalized (ideological, political, conceptual) or irrationalized (artistic-poetic, mystical-religious) ways and means in which society is interested (or not interested).

In other words, traditions and customs are distinguished by their objectified universal significance and openness to others, while stereotypes are a product of the hidden subjective state of mind of the individual. Myth, as an eternal way of ordering reality, is a product of collective belief and acts as an extremely successful mechanism for the emotional consolidation of society.

The author of the term, Walter Lippmann, understood stereotypes as: “...preconceived opinions that decisively control all processes of perception. They mark certain objects, both familiar and unfamiliar, so that the barely familiar seems well known and the unfamiliar seems deeply alien.” W. Lippman explained the functioning of stereotypes through an analysis of the socio-psychological aspects of people’s activities and considered stereotypes to be the mental material on which public consciousness generally. Stereotypes, according to the scientist, organize the world and facilitate people’s thinking process, thanks to them a person feels confident. The scientist identified two main reasons that influence the emergence of stereotypes.

The first reason is the use of the principle of saving effort, which is characteristic of everyday human thinking and is expressed in the fact that people do not strive to react each time in a new way to new facts and phenomena, but try to bring them under existing categories. Abandoning the economy of attention in favor of a purely experimental approach would undermine human existence. Thus, the process of stereotyping is always preceded by the process of categorization, as one of the ways a person understands the surrounding reality.

The second reason for the formation of stereotypes is the protection of existing group values. Lippman called stereotypes a fortress that protects our traditions and pointed out that any attack on our stereotypes is regarded by us as an attack on the foundations of our worldview. Stability, rigidity, conservatism - these are the main characteristics of stereotypes according to W. Lippman. He studied the stereotype in the system of those factors that cause its occurrence and determine its functioning.

The formation of stereotypes is based on the peculiarities of human thinking and psyche. Firstly, this is concretization - the desire to clarify abstract, and, therefore, difficult to understand concepts with the help of some real images that are accessible and understandable to the individual and all members of a given community. Secondly, this is a simplification, which comes down to identifying one or more features as fundamental for the disclosure of complex phenomena. The social factor in the emergence of stereotypes is, as a rule, the presence of limited, one-sided experience.

At the end of the forties of the 20th century, the definition proposed by the American psychosociologist Kimball Jung gained the greatest popularity in Western scientific thought. A stereotype was understood by the scientist as “a false classification concept, which, as a rule, is associated with some social sensory-emotional tones of similarity and difference, approval or condemnation of another group.” In his definition, K. Jung emphasized the distorted nature of the assessment of phenomena and objects by stereotypes and thereby laid the foundation for the understanding of a stereotype as an erroneous assessment or preconceived opinion about phenomena or groups of people.

Subsequently, a stereotype began to be perceived as an image or idea, obviously false, about a person or group. In Western science, the concept of a stereotype has increasingly become identified with ethnic or racial prejudice. As a result, the content of the concept of “stereotype” was narrowed even in comparison with the original one, which was proposed by W. Lippmann - these are images of any object or phenomenon that exist in a person’s mind and are manifested in his behavior. Now stereotypes are interpreted as a set of distorted ideas. Falsehood became so strongly associated with the concept of “stereotype” that the term “sociotype” was proposed to denote standard but true knowledge about a sociocultural group.

Only at the end of the 1950s. O. Kleinberg's hypothesis about the presence of a “grain of truth” in this phenomenon became widespread. According to this hypothesis, stable simplified representations can be either true or false. The American researcher argued that “partially incorrect, superficial, limited stereotypes, however, generalize the real features of a culture.” Under the influence of Kleinberg's hypothesis, discussions arose again about the correspondence of stereotypes to true knowledge about objects and objects of the surrounding world. There has been a tendency to identify stereotypes with generalizations of phenomena that actually exist, although perhaps not in the form in which they are reflected.

However, it should be noted that some Western scientists who have studied the stereotype as a phenomenon of human psychology and culture do not consider the problem of containing a “grain of truth” in a stereotype to be worthy of attention at all. From their point of view, any generalization regarding the assessment of human behavior is already a stereotype.

In fact, the problem of the relationship between true and false in stereotypes is very important. The main difficulty in resolving this issue is the lack of a reliable criterion for identifying the degree of truth of a judgment. Note that under truth, in in this case, is understood as an adequate reflection of objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality. The evolution of views on the problem of the truth-falsity of stereotypes can be presented in the form of three stages. In the beginning, stereotypes were considered to be predominantly false formations. It was assumed that stereotypes, functioning both at the personal and collective levels, cannot act as an absolutely true reproduction of reality. Later, social stereotypes began to be understood primarily as a simplification, a schematization of real objects. The simplification itself can be either false or true. The process of stereotyping is neither good nor bad; it performs the function of categorizing the social world that is objectively necessary for a person. American psychosociologist E. Bogardus defined stereotyping as the lower stage of the evaluation process, but at the same time vital. Stereotyped perceptions arise from the enormous diversity of groups and individuals and the inability for most busy people to weigh every reaction to every individual. In this way, individuals and groups are typified. Stereotyping plays an evaluative role and makes life easier in society.

A negative attitude towards stereotypes can be seen in the definition of another American researcher J. Wishman. The scientist identified the following main characteristics of the concept that underlies the stereotype:

1. the concept is simple rather than differentiated;

2. more erroneous than true;

3. it is learned from others rather than obtained through direct experience with reality;

4. it is resistant to the influence of new experience.

Stereotypes are effective but unreliable. Thus, scientists are pointed out the conditions for the emergence of stereotypes, namely inadequacy of perception and lack of contact with reality. At the same time, the stability of this phenomenon is especially emphasized.

Today, the most common opinion is that a stereotype is simultaneously true and false. This is possible when a person’s actions, conditioned by “false” stereotypes, influence the further course of events in such a way that even false ideas and expectations come true and are validated in the eyes of the bearer of this stereotype. IN this issue one can agree with the opinion of P.N. Shikhirev, who argues that in a stereotype it is not the truth itself that is important, but the conviction in it.

The concept of a stereotype was first used by W. Lippmann back in 1922, who believed that these are ordered, schematic “pictures of the world” determined by culture in a person’s head, which save his efforts when perceiving complex objects of the world. With this understanding of the stereotype, two of its important features stand out - being determined by culture and being a means of saving labor effort, and, accordingly, linguistic means. If algorithms for solving mathematical problems save a person’s thinking, then stereotypes “save” the personality itself.

In cognitive linguistics and ethnolinguistics, the term stereotype refers to the content side of language and culture, i.e. is understood as a mental (thinking) stereotype that correlates with “ a naive picture peace." We find such an understanding of the stereotype in the works of E. Bartminsky and his school; the linguistic picture of the world and the linguistic stereotype are correlated in him as part and whole, while the linguistic stereotype is understood as a judgment or several judgments relating to a specific object of the extra-linguistic world, a subjectively determined representation of an object in which descriptive and evaluative features coexist and which is the result of the interpretation of reality within the framework of socially developed cognitive models. We consider a linguistic stereotype not only a judgment or several judgments, but also any stable expression, consisting of several words, for example, a stable comparison, a cliche, etc.: a person of Caucasian nationality, gray-haired like a harrier, a new Russian. The use of such stereotypes facilitates and simplifies communication, saving the energy of communicants.

Yu. A. Sorokin defines a stereotype as a certain process and result of communication (behavior) according to certain semiotic models, the list of which is closed due to certain semiotic-technological principles accepted in a certain society. In this case, the semiotic model is implemented at the social, socio-psychological levels (standard) or at the linguistic, psychological levels (norm). The standard and norm exist in two forms: as a stamp (an overly explicit complex sign) or as a cliche (an insufficiently explicit complex sign).

V.V. Krasnykh divides stereotypes into two types - stereotypes-images and stereotypes-situations. Examples of image stereotypes: a bee is a hard worker, a ram is stubborn, and situation stereotypes: a ticket is a composter, a stork is a cabbage.

Stereotypes are always national, and if there are analogues in other cultures, then these are quasi-stereotypes, because, while coinciding in general, they differ in nuances and details that are of fundamental importance. For example, the phenomena and situation of the queue in different cultures are different, and therefore, stereotypical behavior will be different: in Russia they ask “Who is last?” or just stand in line, in a row European countries They tear off the receipt in a special machine and then follow the numbers that light up above the window, for example, at the post office.

So, a stereotype is a certain fragment of the conceptual picture of the world, a mental “picture”, a stable cultural and national idea (according to Yu. E. Prokhorov, “super stable” and “super fixed”) about an object or situation. It represents some culturally determined idea of an object, phenomenon, situation. But this is not only a mental image, but also its verbal shell. Belonging to a particular culture is determined precisely by the presence of a basic stereotypical core of knowledge, which is repeated in the process of socialization of an individual in a given society, therefore stereotypes are considered pre-precious (important, representative) names in a culture. A stereotype is a phenomenon of language and speech, a stabilizing factor that allows, on the one hand, to store and transform some of the dominant components of a given culture, and on the other, to express oneself among “one’s own” and at the same time identify one’s “one.”

The mechanism for the formation of stereotypes are many cognitive processes, because stereotypes perform a number of cognitive functions - the function of schematization and simplification, the function of forming and storing group ideology, etc.

We live in a world of stereotypes imposed on us by culture. The set of mental stereotypes of an ethnos is known to each of its representatives. Stereotypes are, for example, expressions in which a representative of a rural, peasant culture will talk about light moonlit night: it’s so light that you can sew, while a city dweller in this typical situation will say: it’s so light that you can read. Similar stereotypes are used by native speakers in standard communication situations. Moreover, almost any feature, not just the logically main one, can become dominant in a stereotype.

The stability of a culture and its viability are determined by the extent to which the structures that determine its unity and integrity are developed. The integrity of culture presupposes the development of cultural stereotypes - stereotypes of goal setting, behavior, perception, understanding, communication, etc., i.e. stereotypes big picture peace. An important role in the formation of stereotypes is played by the frequency of occurrence of certain objects and phenomena in people’s lives, often expressed in longer human contacts with these objects compared to others, which leads to stereotyping of such objects.

A behavior stereotype is the most important among stereotypes; it can turn into a ritual. And in general, stereotypes have much in common with traditions, customs, myths, rituals, but they differ from the latter in that traditions and customs are characterized by their objectified significance, openness to others, while stereotypes remain at the level of hidden mentalities that exist among “our own people.”

So, a stereotype is characteristic of the consciousness and language of a representative of a culture; it is a kind of core of culture, its bright representative, and therefore the support of the individual in the dialogue of cultures.

What is a stereotype as a phenomenon of a social system? Representatives of various sciences study stereotypes as part of their tasks. Philosophers, sociologists, cultural scientists, and ethnographers are interested in the ethnic aspects of stereotypes. Psychologists consider the influence of gender stereotypes. The single concept of “stereotype” covers all spheres of human life.

Stereotype - what is it?

At the end of the 17th century, the French publisher F. Didot invented a device that allowed saving time, labor and price in the printing business. Before the invention, the text for a book was typed anew every time, which led to huge expenditures of resources. New creative solution Didot consisted of making casts of the typed text, then casting metal plates-stamps, allowing books to be printed in large quantities. F. Dido called his invention a stereotype: “στερεός” - solid “τύπος” - image.

What does a stereotype mean as a concept in the modern world? In 1922, American publicist Walter Lippmann introduced the term "stereotype" in social environment and described its meaning as: the inability of an individual to know the whole picture real world without simplifying it. A person carries out his activities based not on obvious direct knowledge, but on ready-made cliché templates introduced by others: relatives, acquaintances, the system, the state.

Types of stereotypes

A child is born and with mother’s milk absorbs lullabies, fairy tales, traditions and legends belonging to his ethnic group. As the child grows up, he learns the norms and regulations characteristic of his family and the clan as a whole. Educational institutions contribute. This is how stereotypical thinking gradually develops. A person literally becomes overgrown with stereotypes. Common types of stereotypes identified by various experts:

thinking stereotypes
behavioral stereotypes;
ethnocultural stereotypes;
response stereotypes;
communication stereotypes, etc.

The functions of stereotypes can be divided into “positive” and “negative”. The main positive aspect of the stereotype is the economy of human mental activity. Man, for his short life cannot know everything about everything, but based on the experiences of others he can have an idea about many things, even if they are not related to his reality. The negative aspect is that personal experience(even a one-time) confirmation of the correctness of this or that stereotype is fixed in the subconscious and prevents us from perceiving people and phenomena differently.

Gender stereotypes

Man performs different social roles, including gender. Gender role determines the norms of behavior recommended, based on being male or female and cultural characteristics of the country. What's happened ? The role of a man or woman in society is determined by many traditions and ways of life that have been established over centuries. Stereotypes have still not outlived their usefulness, the echo of which can be traced in proverbs and sayings of different peoples:

woman is the keeper of the hearth;
the man is the breadwinner;
women are fools;
a woman without children is like a tree without branches;
a lonely woman is a wingless bird;
a man without a wife is like a barn without a roof;
a man promises, a man fulfills;
The guy is not a flirt, but he loves to fight.

Ethnic stereotypes

Effective interethnic communication today plays an important role in achieving peace and cooperation between nations. National stereotypes- these are the cultural ideas of a people as a nation developed over centuries about themselves (autostereotypes) and about other peoples (heterostereotypes). Study of ethnic groups - stereotypes - helps to learn the characteristics, habits, culture for useful interaction between different countries.

Social stereotypes

What's happened social stereotype? Stable and simplified matrices of images of social objects (person, group, profession, gender, ethnicity). In this case, thinking stereotypes may turn out to be false and form erroneous knowledge. As a rule, a stereotype is based on observations based on real facts and personal experience, but sometimes a stereotype plays a destructive role when it is applied in a situation that falls outside the general pattern and “sticking” labels on a person occurs. Examples of social stereotypes:

without “clan” it is impossible to build a successful career;
the child must be obedient;
to be successful you need to graduate from a prestigious university;
all men need only one thing from women...;
all accountants are bores and lawyers are crooks;
money is evil;
Japanese cars are the highest quality;
Jews are the most cunning;
the man is a womanizer, a drinker.

Cultural stereotypes

Cultural stereotypes of society affect human emotions, which are associated with physicality and are reinforced by gestures. Emotions and gestures are a universal language among peoples with similar cultural customs, but in individual countries can acquire completely opposite meaning. Before you travel to other countries, it is useful to study the customs of these countries. Culture combines: stereotypes of goal setting, communication, perception, picture of the world. Stereotypical behavior is an important stage in the formation of rituals (religious) of various cultures.

Popular stereotypes

What is a stereotype? This question is usually answered “correctly”, “stereotypically”. Society is accustomed to thinking in popular terms, the reason for this lies in the insufficiency or shortage of information and the inability to confirm this information. Stereotype of thinking (mental attitude) - “I am like everyone else” means belonging to one’s family, group, people, state, and reverse side: drives one into a framework of limitations, impoverishes a person’s personal experience. Popular stereotypes accepted in society:

audacity second happiness;
figure standard - 90/60/90;
It’s good there - where we are not;
hits - means loves;
eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend, give dinner to your enemy;
a woman on a ship - there will be trouble;
you need to get married before 30;
girls should wear pink, boys blue;
women are the weaker sex;
expensive means high quality;

Stereotypes about Russians

Stereotypes about Russia can be traced in various stories and anecdotes invented both by the Russians themselves and by other peoples. Stereotypically, Russians appear in jokes as “shirtless guys, extremely hardy, who love to drink and get rowdy.” Interest in Russia is great. This power remains mysterious and majestic, and for some, a hostile country. What do representatives of other states think about the country, Russian women and men:

Russians are the heaviest drinkers;
bears walk along the streets;
Russian girls are the most beautiful;
men walking with stone-faced, do not smile;
Russia is a country of balalaikas, nesting dolls and kosovorotkas;
the most hospitable;
illiterate and illiterate;
girls dream;

Stereotypes about the French

The whole world watches the French catwalks with trepidation, buys French perfume, and is touched by the most romantic films planets. “See Paris and die!” - a phrase said by the Soviet writer-photographer I. Ehrenburg - has long become a catchphrase and is spoken with aspiration and a dreamy look. Stereotypes of France that are strongly associated with this beautiful country:

French women are the most sophisticated, elegant;
Paris dictates fashion to everyone else;
French people - best lovers in the world;
croissants, wine, foie gras, frogs, baguettes and oysters are the daily national food;
beret, vest, red scarf - standard clothing
the most smoking nation in the world;
strikes and demonstrations “with or without reason”;
the most inveterate pessimists;
freedom of morals and frivolous behavior;
get annoyed if foreigners pronounce words incorrectly in French;
patriots of their homeland affectionately call the country “La dos France” (“Dear France”).

Stereotypes about Americans

America is a country of contrasts and unlimited possibilities, where the most cherished dreams come true - this is how Americans think about their state. The USA is a country that is in many ways incomprehensible to the Russian mentality, causing some to reject it, and, in light of the existing tense relations between Russia and America, cause distrust in the most smiling American nation. Myths and stereotypes about Americans:

a nation of fast food and fat people;
love to organize surprises;
they want to take over the whole world;
lack of style and taste in clothing;
the most patriotic nation;
Every American has a gun;
are not shy about violent expressions of emotions.

Stereotypes about the British

What associations do people have who have never been to England, but have heard about this country? Those who studied English at school remember the famous clockwork Big Ben(Big Ben) and that England is a country of rain, fog and oatmeal for breakfast. There are legends about the stiffness of the British. English detective stories about Sherlock Holmes are loved to be read all over the world. Stereotypes about the British:

constantly talking about the weather;
drink tea according to schedule;
The British are the most polite;
arrogant snobs;
conservatives;
strange English humor;
everyone goes to the pub;
the most law-abiding citizens.

Stereotypes are forms that determine behavior not only individuals, but also groups, cultures, ethnic groups, societies. It is clear that they must be taken with some limitations. Experts in ethnic psychology who study ethnocultural stereotypes note that nations at a high level of economic development emphasize such qualities as intelligence, efficiency, and enterprise, while nations with more backward economies emphasize kindness, cordiality, and hospitality. This can be confirmed by the research of S.G. Ter-Minasova, according to the results of which, in American society professionalism, hard work, responsibility, etc. are more valued, while in Russian - hospitality, sociability, and fairness.

According to research in the field of ethnocentrism, it can be concluded that most individuals consider what is happening in their culture to be natural and correct, and what is happening in other cultures to be unnatural and incorrect. This concerns behavior, customs, norms and values.

As a rule, on the one hand, ethnic stereotypes represent a serious barrier in intercultural communication. On the other hand, for all their schematism and generality, stereotypical ideas about other peoples and cultures prepare for a collision with a foreign culture, weaken the blow, and reduce cultural shock.

Stereotypes allow a person to form an idea of the world as a whole, to go beyond his narrow social, geographical and political world. The reason for the formation of stereotypes, as a rule, is ignorance of the national and cultural specifics that determine the behavior of representatives of a particular community, limited horizons, etc. Stereotypes entail certain expectations regarding the behavior patterns of representatives of other cultures. However, it should be noted that the formation of stereotypes is partly reinforced real facts. However, stereotypes, as a rule, are not identical national character, nor the people's idea of themselves.

It is clear that stereotypes are reflected in language. Constantly repeated phrases over time acquire a certain linguistic stability and move to the level of clichés.

The functions of stereotypes can be of the following nature (E. N. Belaya):

1) the function of transmitting relatively reliable information. When entering an alien culture, people tend to organize and generalize what they see, creating a primary cultural model;
2) the orienting function of stereotypes directly follows from the previous function. Its role is to create a simplified matrix of the surrounding world, a kind of “guide”;
3) the function of influencing the creation of reality - with the help of stereotypes, there is a clear differentiation into one’s own and someone else’s cultural models. A stereotype helps preserve primary cultural identity.

By type, stereotypes can be differentiated into autostereotypes(strong opinions that have formed about themselves, their own culture under the influence of various sources of information) and heterostereotypes - external stereotypes that representatives of one culture develop about another.

As an example, here are several common sociocultural stereotypes.

Stereotype of Germans: bureaucratic, overzealous at work, overly punctual. Rationalism is put at the forefront.

Stereotype of the French: arrogant, hot-tempered, emotional. As a rule, they are very careful in both formal and informal relationships. They are sensitive to politeness. Economical and thrifty.

Stereotype of the British: very conservative, quite reserved and arrogant towards representatives of other cultures.

Stereotype about Norwegians: silent, distrustful, completely unromantic, reserved.

Stereotype about Finns: they talk little, eat little, don’t like feasts. Expensive gifts are not accepted in gifting etiquette.