Fern Griffiths

As the topic of stereotypes and bias is a topic I will be exploring through the lens of Celtic and British folklore I decided to do some research into stereotypes to gain a better understanding of what they are and how they come about.

The subject of stereotypes and judging people based on prejudice and bias is rarely seen in video games, particularly in games that aim to be suitable and accessible for all ages.  The idea of making this topic accessible to a younger audience and starting a conversation from it has been done before in animations, such as Disney’s Zootropolis (2016), but it is not something that I have seen being done in video games.

My research into stereotypes led me to look at the work of Mcgarty, Yzerbyt, and Spears (2002) and Myers (2012) who wrote how stereotypes are a by-product of our attempt to understand and as a result simplify the world around us.  Humans as a species like to think in terms of groups or categories, a process called categorisation (APA Dictionary of Psychology n.d).  To help us understand our world quickly and as effectively we like to place things into groups and this is as true with people and experiences as it is with objects.  Placing and thinking about others and ourselves in terms of groups is called social categorisation and once people begin to do this we start to think of others as members of a group rather than as individuals (Allport 1979).

It is widely regarded that social categorisation occurs spontaneously (Crisp and Hewstone, 2007. Myers, 2012), we don’t think about placing people into categories our brains just automatically do so in order to process the information we are receiving faster.  As pattern recognising creatures we also find it beneficial to categorise the world around us, including people, as it allows us to more quickly recognise a partner and quickly gain information about the characteristics of people who belong to certain social groups. For instance, if you are lost in a theme park you are more likely to ask someone who works there for directions.  In this case, social categorisation means that you are able to see a person wearing a theme park uniform and know that they are likely to be able to help you.

However social categorisation isn’t always a good thing and can lead to stereotypes.  This is because, though beneficial to the person doing the categorising, social categorisation of others can lead to exaggeration of the difference between social groups (Myers 2012).    The term “stereotype” was first introduced by Walter Lippmann in 1946 where he describes them as being “the core of our personal tradition, the defences of our position in society.” Stereotypes, both negative and positive, are found everywhere and often lead to an over generalisation and/or exaggeration of an individual or a group of people.

Myers (2012) wrote that stereotypes are the basis for negative and positive bias, which is an element that I will focus on within my games.  A bias is a tendency, preference or prejudice toward or against something or someone (APA Dictionary of Psychology n.d). Biases can be positive such as choosing to only eat foods that are considered healthy but as biases most often come about as a result of stereotypes, rather than actual knowledge or facts they can more often than not be negative. Whether positive or negative, such cognitive shortcuts can result in prejudgments that lead to rash decisions or discriminatory practices.  Unfortunately, many people are unaware that they hold any biases, something which is called implicit bias.  Implicit biases, like stereotypes and the wider process of categorisation, happen unconsciously.  Humans are naturally biased, we like certain things and dislike others, often without realising a bias has been formed.  Biases and stereotypes can also come around as a result of a person’s upbringing and personal experiences (Mcgarty, Yzerbyt, and Spears, 2002).   While stereotypes and biases can’t be fully avoided it is important to question them and whether or not they are accurate, especially if they have been formed based on second-hand information or stories from others.

For my game, I plan to use stereotypes, prejudice and bias in a similar way to the film Zootropolis as my aim is to create a game that is family-friendly so the topic of stereotypes can’t be introduced in too heavy-handed away.  I feel that Zootropolis did a brilliant job at introducing the topic to children in a way that allows parents to continue the conversation after the film has finished and starting a wider conversation around the topic.  My plan moving forward is to take what I have learned about stereotypes, bias and prejudice and examine the creatures of folklore and the sort of assumptions that might be made about them and what stereotypes and bias could be formed as a result.  Once I have done this I will begin to apply it to a narrative for which the game play will take place around.

“The more we try to understand one another the more exceptional each of us will be.”
Judy Hopps – Zootropolis (2016)

References:

APA DICTIONARY OF PSYCHOLOGY. n.d ” APA Dictionary of Psychology” APA  [online]. Available at: https://dictionary.apa.org/ [Accessed February 15 2022]

Allport, G. W. 1979. The Nature of Prejudice. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Crisp, R. J., & Hewstone, M. (Eds.). 2007. Multiple social categorization. San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press.

MYERS, David. 2012. Social Psychology. The McGraw-Hill Companies

MCGARTY, Craig, Vincent Y. YZERBYT, and Russel SPEARS. 2002. “Social, cultural and cognitive factors in stereotype formation”. Stereotypes as explanations: The formation of meaningful beliefs about social groups. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–15.

Lippmann, Walter. 1946. Public opinion. New Brunswick, NJ:Transaction

Films:

Zootropolis. 2016. [Animated Film] Disney.