Why does the government need to know this kind of information? Since the survey goes back to reinterview the same people over and over again, it is important to make sure the right person is interviewed. Many respondents are provided with a stipend to provide an incentive to answer the survey for the 10th or 20th time. The one drawback to the hair color question is that it is self-reported. The IQ questions were included because Congress requires the Pentagon to test all military recruits and reject those who are not intelligent enough to handle dangerous weapons defined by Congress as the bottom 30 percent of the population.
Parts of the test are used to determine the best type of job someone is suited for, while another part, called the AFQT , measures innate intelligence. To determine how AFQT scores match up with the general population, the military needed to know the intelligence of large groups of U. Two groups of NLS respondents have been used by the Pentagon to determine the fitness of recruits, which provides the second piece of information needed to determine the intelligence of blondes.
The surprising answer — at least given the prevalent stereotype — is that among white women, those reporting having blonde hair have the highest average IQ and the second-highest median, or midpoint, IQ. Menu Close. Log in Subscribe. You silly boys: blondes make men act dumb. Roger Dobson and Steven Swinford. Previously scientists have found that people walk and talk more slowly in front of the elderly, while other studies have revealed that unconscious racial assumptions and prejudices emerge in written tests.
The stereotype of the "dumb blonde" emerged with the development of films, television and glossy magazines. It is said to have first appeared in the s novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos, which was made into a silent film in and a movie starring Monroe in Current blonde celebrities like hotel heiress Paris Hilton, dubbed the "heirhead", have practically made a career out of behaving stupidly.
There is, however, no scientific evidence that blonde women are less intelligent than their darker-haired counterparts. In fact, Monroe is said to have had an IQ of According to researchers at St Andrews University, north European women evolved blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to make them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males. Some psychologists have also suggested that because white babies are often born blond, there is a primal association between blondness and childhood, encouraging people to admire and fawn over the pale-haired.
British model and natural blonde Laura Bailey said: "I've always been taken very seriously. I have always been blonde and I have never had an issue with the way I am. If I'm being insulted, then I'm blissfully unaware. Former EastEnders actress Michelle Collins said the results of the study were more to do with men's approach to sex than intelligence.
Argos AO. Privacy Policy Feedback. Obviously, this once again creates a source for self-fulfilling prophecies. So next time when you want to make a blonde joke before your blond girlfriend takes her math exam, you might just reconsider. Taken together, the research on stereotypes suggests that there are many processes by which stereotypes enter our everyday lives. Stereotyping, that is, the activation of stereotype -congruent information, seems inevitable in daily situations.
Through the activation of such category-based knowledge, our cognition and behavior is influenced. This may lead to a continuous confirmation of the stereotypic content, because by expecting certain behaviors from another, we almost automatically elicit such behaviors. Furthermore, if members of a stereotyped group are afraid of confirming negative stereotypes about themselves, they might fall pray to the stereotype threat and thereby underperform.
On a more positive note, stereotypes are of course not always bad. In many situations, category-based knowledge really simplifies the world for us. We do not have to process every tiny piece of input we receive individually. By applying categories and stereotypes , our information processing is greatly facilitated.
Some — even negative — stereotypes can also be good for us and we might not want to get rid of them. For example, when we see a group of men with shaved heads ahead of us, it might be a good idea to change to the other side of the road and avoid a potential situation of danger with a group of skinheads.
Nevertheless, the research teaches us to be particularly aware of the stereotypes we have and encounter. You are convinced you only stereotype others when you want to? Have a look at Hidden Bias and take a test from Project Implicit to explore your hidden biases. Bargh, J. Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, Brown, R.
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