G.U. Students Embrace Expanded Learning About Stereotypes

Published: April 13, 2021

Theres no shortage of comparisons for stereotypes . . .

Theyre like credit card debt, easy to acquire but hard to erase. Theyre like good lies, convincing, but unreliable. Theyre like acne; we want to mask them when they appear.

But, for 15 Greenville University students who attended the annual Richey Lecture in Social Psychology at St. Louis University last November, easy hit and run one-liners took a distant backseat to solid research about stereotypes followed by compelling dialogue on how they influence judgment and behavior.

We stayed for the Q&A after the lecture, said Professor of Psychology Rich Beans 85. The students were engaged throughout the time we spent there.

Insightful conversation filled the shuttle on the way back to campus and carried over into classes the next day. For Beans, the give and take confirmed the value academic conferences have for undergraduates, including freshmen.

Richey lecturer Monica Biernat, professor of psychology at University of Kansas, dished up plenty of food for thought with a presentation on stereotypes and shifting standards.

Her examples proved both memorable and relatable for G.U. psychology major Will Sunderland 21. He recalled Biernats research involving students applying to graduate school. Nonwhite applicants received better feedback on letters of recommendation than the feedback their white counterparts received, yet more white applicants gained acceptance.

This can be attributed to the shifting standards and patronization that we consciously or unconsciously enact, said Sunderland.

A similar workplace dynamiccommendation for minorities that leads nowherehas fueled the phrase: praise with no raise.

Stereotypes are deceptively subtle, says Tori Papez 19, like those ushered in with two little words: for a.

[Biernat] talked about how people will use for a when describing females or minority groups . . . for example, one may say, She is smart for a girl instead of She is smart. Period.

At first, the evaluation appears positive, but the lower standard (for a girl) qualifies it and injects negativity.

It reminded me that we are unconsciously bound by prejudice until we make ourselves aware of our own biases, said Papez.

Her insights echo those of author and essayist Chuck Klosterman on This American Life whose observation strikes a familiar but disturbing chord: Stereotypes are like rogue elephants with AIDS that have been set on fire by terrorists, except worse. We all hate stereotypes. Seriously, we hate them. Except that we dont.

As a sophomore, Will Sunderland has already attended two Richey lectures, a Midwestern Psychological Association Conference and an ILLOWA conference.

Those types of experiences opened a whole new world for me as a psychology student, he says, adding that they strengthen his conviction about his field of study. Veterans of the conference experience, he and Papez shared these insights so their peers might benefit, too.

• Take advantage of opportunities to hear experts in your field. Any work that you put in outside of the classroom geared toward your major will only further yourself and your education, says Sunderland, so, when its offered, take advantage of it!
• Be ready to hear different perspectives and learn what professionals in the field are doing.
• Come prepared to take notes. Later, your notes will jog your memory.
• Talk about what you learned with your friends. Explaining it to my friends [afterward] helped me understand the material better and let it sink in more, says Papez.
• Jot down questions throughout the lecture, and seize opportunities like Q&A sessions or breakout groups to ask your questions.
• Dont be afraid to speak up and ask!

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