THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEREOTYPES WITHIN SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGY - FROM SOCIAL COGNITION TO IDEOLOGY

This paper reviews the varying and contrasting ways in which stereotyp es, as representations of groups, and stereotyping as an activity, hav e been constructed and understood within contemporary social psycholog y. These distinct theoretical approaches include the dominant social c ognitive tradition, which views stereotypes as cognitive schemas that simplify reality, and self-categorization theory, which views stereoty pes as psychologically valid representations which reflect the actuali ties of intergroup relations. We articulate how more social and collec tive accounts based on social representations theory, ideology and dis cursive psychology can enrich our understanding of stereotypes and ste reotyping. Stereotypes are not the product of individual cognitive act ivity alone, but are also social and collective products which functio n ideologically by justifying and legitimizing existing social and pow er relations within a society. We also discuss recent contributions to the enduring enigma within social psychology regarding the relationsh ip between stereotypes and social reality, and identify the inherent i deological problems which plague positivist attempts to explicate this relationship. Finally, we discuss the need for an integrative social psychological theory of stereotyping which links the cognitive and psy chological analyses of stereotyping to more social, structural and dis cursive analyses.