also withholding others. However, stereotyping leads to more than merely placing an adjective onto a group or category. The cognitive processes that give reason to stereotyping are much deeper than this, giving rise to the above characteristics.The cognitive approach to stereotyping is that we all stereotype, at varying levels - because of the essential cognitive process of categorisation (Brown, 1995). Howitt, et al. (1989) take this view also, and add that it is an ordinary process of thought to over-generalise, and then protect it.We live in a complex social environment, which we need to simplify into groups, or categories. This simplification is present at all levels of life - it is part of our language, distinguishing between dog and cat, male and female, and even in the basic motives of distinguishing between food and non-food. Such categorisation may seem linguistically simple, but is essential - for example, the classification of elements and organisms by biologists and chemists: 'one of the most basic functions of all organisms is the cutting up of the environment into classifications' (Rosch, et al., 1976). However, the point must be made that, even though language suggests so, categorisation leads to different functions and features in non-humans and humans. For stereotyping is not present in non-humans, thus, we may come to the conclusion that stereotyping is possible through linguistics - this topic is discussed further later. This categorisation also has varying depths of moral meaning, or value, which can lead to varying levels of stereotyping. For example, the categorisation of Catholic - Protestant in Northern Ireland. Categorisation is seen as a way of ordering what we perceive (Billig, 1985), stimuli of the external world that needs to be simplified, using 'iconic images, to pass into our short-term memory' (Neisser, 1976). This simplification process transforms James' 'blooming, buzzing confusion' into a more manage...
