For many years stereotyping has been a product of people judging others without knowing fully about that person. The definition of stereotypes is cognitive schemas that organize information about people based on their membership in certain groups. In other words, people make quick judgments about others based on the types of people they hang out with.
             Why are stereotypes created in our minds? That is a question that is not easily answered. Most of the time a stereotype is created in our mind without us ever realizing when it was put in there. When we hear someone talking about another person we may not believe what they are saying but that thought is still placed in the back of our mind. They are said to be "automatic." For example, a football player is said to be dumb because he failed one test in English class, more likely, from there on out the football player is going to be thought of as a dumb jock by those who heard about him failing the test. Overcoming a stereotype is difficult thing to do. A person can try to override their stereotyping by blocking out the thoughts of a stereotype. They must be careful however, this technique can backfire and make a person even more prejudice toward a certain group. Another theory to overcome stereotyping is to integrate with a group and have superordinate goals, those that require people to work together to succeed at something.
             A stereotype that plagues me is that because I'm a southerner I have to be a dumb, stupid redneck. Though I know this is not true, people who don't know me and that aren't from around here tend to believe this stereotype. I'm not sure where this stereotype originated from but my theory is that years ago many southerners, particularly males, would drop out of school to help their families on the farms. As a result of them dropping out of school, they wouldn't get the proper schooling they needed to be
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