The characteristics of a given social stereotype may or may not have much basis in fact. Stereotypes can sometimes be a relatively value-neutral categorization of behavior (e.g. the view that most parents have a tendency to nag their children) . On the other hand, when unjustified stereotypes are applied to groups, often the result is negative. Negative stereotyping is a key feature in prejudice, as racism, sexism, et cetera.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump