Final answer:
A stereotype is an oversimplified generalization made about an individual or group, typically negative, and based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, or gender. It differs from prejudice, which is about thoughts and feelings, discrimination, which is about actions, and racism, which is about the belief in racial superiority or inferiority.
Step-by-step explanation:
A stereotype is a generalization made about an individual or group. For example, the statement "jocks can't do basic math" is an example of a stereotype, which is a simplistic, firmly held belief, often negative, about individual characteristics generalized to all people within that group. Stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations that do not take individual differences into account and can be based on various characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, and sexual orientation.
It is important to distinguish between stereotypes, which are oversimplified ideas or generalizations made about groups of people, and prejudice, which refers to thoughts and feelings, and discrimination, which refers to actions. In contrast, racism is a belief in the inherent superiority or inferiority of races. These terms, although related, should not be used interchangeably as they describe different concepts in the spectrum of understanding human behaviors and social issues regarding diversity and inclusion.
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