Have you ever made a judgement about someone before you got to know them, only to find out later that you were wrong? Our minds are always judging the world around us. However, we must also make sure that we are treating people differently because of these judgements before we get to know them. That is called pre-judging, and it's where we get the word "prejudice." Making such judgements about an entire group of people is known as a stereotype. When we stereotype we miss out on the individual differences and uniqueness found in all cultures.
For example, before coming to Ireland, my group had to do a few cultural activities with each other so that we were prepared to go abroad. One of these activities was discussing all of the stereotypes that we had about Irish people or general stereotypes about the country. Some common stereotypes about Ireland were that all Irish people had red hair, that Irish food was boring, that Irish people mainly ate potatoes and sausage, and that everyone knew how to Irish dance. Another big stereotype was that it rained every day in Ireland.
Now, after reading these judgements you may think that they are silly, and they are!
