The social effects of stereotyped behaviour.

A survey of the attitudes of adolescents towards stereotyped behaviour was carried out. Two hundred and five students attending two secondary schools in a rural market town were randomly divided into four groups. Each group was shown a videotaped recording of an actress engaging in routine household tasks. Two groups saw the actress displaying stereotyped behaviour. Half the sample were told the actress was a university student and half were told that she was a person with a mental handicap. Subjects then completed a questionnaire which asked about their perceptions of the person in the video. Results showed that more negative responses were given to a person displaying stereotyped behaviour irrespective of label. The sex of the respondent and prior contact with mental handicap were significant variables. It is suggested that the public's perception of stereotypy should be a relevant factor in the decision to reduce the behaviour.