Social Psychology: Stereotypes, Attributes, Prototypes - Book Report/Review Example

That she holds this attitude is evident as she has spent her life honoring those ideals, even though she now has no one left to impose them upon her. This behavioral component, reflecting the behaviors and actions that are consistent with this “old school” attitude, should be expected and prepared for (Gross 2001).As an older woman from a certain perceived social class, she is very likely to have several ideas of who I might be and what I might be capable of as a young practitioner.

In presenting myself to her, I confront her with two possible prototypes – that of the young female college student and that of the doctor coming to her home on call. A prototype is an expectation we hold about a person’s personality based upon limited information (Hayes 2000). As a doctor, she will be expecting someone older, wise with experience and who is meticulous in the way they do things. Her prototype of the young female is most likely to see me as frivolous, empty-headed and rebellious.

Either way, I will be viewed as beneath her social class because I hold a working position. Depending upon which prototype she links me with, her expectations regarding that role will affect the way she perceives my behavior during our appointment and could have some bearing on whether she accepts or rejects my treatment protocol.Stereotypes are likely to come into play in this relationship as well. Stereotypes are “generalized beliefs about what people in a particular group are like such as class or occupation” (Gross 2001).

Because they are used to devalue other groups in comparison to our own, Miss Marple’s stereotype of me is likely to be based on my social class as a working girl, my age as inexperienced and my gender as I am operating outside of the social norms she grew up with. However, her stereotype of me as a doctor may help counteract some of these negative effects as doctors are usually well respected.