Controlling other people

Power is control, and stereotypes are one way to exert control, both social and personal. The controlling impact of stereotypes also explains why power maintains stereotypes. Another form of stereotype, the prescriptive aspect, is even more explicitly controlling. Stereotyping operates in the service of control. People in power stereotype subordinates because they do not need to pay attention to them and because it may not be easy to do so. Individuals who seek to control the fates of other people may or may not more frequently end up in positions of power. Regardless, their motivation to control other people may result in the use of stereotyping as one form of control. The powerful can also be motivated by people own self-concepts as fair-minded and careful people. Similarly, people can be influenced by bogus information about the appropriate norms in the situation, if they are the kind of people who strictly use other people's standards as a guide.