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On a recent episode of
A variety of sources have described Boyle as the unemployed, “spinster cat lady,” from a poor village in
Elizabeth C. Collins, Christian S. Crandall, and Monica Biernat, performed various studies that focused on stereotypes and implicit social comparisons. The data collected caused them to conclude that “people interpret ambiguous information such that their stereotypes hold true, but may fail to appreciate that it is the interpretation that allows them to be true.” In many ways, stereotypes serve as a tool to “fill-in-the-blanks” and formulate a belief about a person or object. The researchers also expressed that we may form stereotypes in an effort to “maintain an existing worldview” or they may simply be a “product of expectations that arise from knowledge of the pervasive cultural stereotypes.” Either way, stereotypes cause us to socially categorize people based on characteristics like race, age, religion, and in Susan Boyle’s case, appearance.
Susan Boyle’s story has touched so many because she challenged and conquered her “old maid” stereotype and realized and achieved her ultimate life-dream. Carole Somerville, in her article, “Susan Boyle, Social Psychology and Discrimination,” reveals that the audience’s emotional reaction to Boyle’s performance may have also been due embarrassment that their quick judgments were significantly flawed. She challenged our world-views and made us remember to always reach for the stars, no matter what others may think or say. Susan Boyle provided us with a wake-up call and reaffirmed the famous adage, “never judge a book by its cover.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/22/bregman.boyle/
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-04-19-susan-boyle_N.htm
http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/susan_boyle_social_psychology_discrimination
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