
 Stereotyping has a lasting negative impact, new research finds - toni
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/social-sciences-business-law/stereotyping-has-lasting-negative-impact-says-u-of-t-researcher.html
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yummyfajitas
Interesting. In the face of certain types of adversity, women perform worse on
many measures.

If these results are true, and assuming a rational hiring policy devoted
solely to maximizing performance [1], a comparably qualified man should be
preferred to a woman in roles where popular stereotypes suggest women may
perform worse. After all, the woman may be exposed to stereotypes outside the
workplace, return to the workplace and perform poorly and become aggressive.

(If the result generalizes to men, then we should avoid hiring men in counter-
stereotypical roles as well.)

[1] I'm discussing purely the theoretical rational bayesian policy which
maximizes worker performance and ignores things like legal liability. In
practice, you must sacrifice some expected performance to reduce risk of
lawsuits (i.e., add a lawsuit cost term to your objective function).

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pasbesoin
There are reasons it's done. An increasing number and/or vocal portion of the
population may not like it (myself included), but that does not preclude its
effectiveness and the social role it plays. Similarly bullying, with which I
have more experience (particularly on the receiving end).

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bbq
Out of curiousity, what are the social justifications for stereotyping and
bullying?

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yummyfajitas
Basing decisions on stereotypes is often statistically optimal in the absence
of other information.

For example, to get home, you must pass through one of two dark alleys. Dark
alley 1 has a black man in it, dark alley 2 has an asian woman in it. If you
base your decision of which dark alley to walk through on stereotypes ("blacks
are mostly criminal", "asian women are good at math"), you are far less likely
to be robbed than if you choose an alley at random.

[http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_informatio...](http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_06.html)

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viggity
all research studies are bullshit

