The Presence of Stereotyping in Western News Media Essay

The Presence of Stereotyping in Western News Media - Essay Example The Chambers English Dictionary defines making a stereotype of a person as characterising or categorising too readily or simplistically. In the field of Psychology, stereotypical thinking is identified as a vehicle for prejudice, and is defined more precisely as being comprised of the processes of condensation and displacement. Condensation is the outcome of fusing a number of images or ideas to make a single composite. It is this that tends to be typically either simplistic or something entirely unrelated. By displacement is meant, â€Å"feelings of hostility or anger are directed against objects that are not the real origin of those feelings†. Stereotypes thus highlight contrasts between the stereotyping and stereotyped groups, and serve to perceive what is being stereotyped as the ‘other’. Stereotyping in the media occurs most frequently when news is to be covered pertaining to a foreign culture, race or religion, or a society about which little is known.