Surname 1
Name
Course
Research Proposal
5th October 2017
Racial Stereotypes of Asians at the Work Place
Introduction
Like any other group of people in the United States, people hold certain stereotypes
against Asians. Some of these stereotypes are positive while most are negative. Even the positive
stereotypes prove to be not so positive as they eventually lead to negative stereotypes. For many
years Asians have outperformed other minorities in education, employment, and income. This
has led to their being labelled the ‘model minority’ in the United States. The success of Asians in
most fields has, however, hidden from public discourse the continued stereotyping of the
minority group in America. It is ironical that the ‘model minority’ should continue to experience
negative stereotyping, especially at the workplace, even after relative success in assimilation. But
even the stereotype of ‘model minority’ while positive to some extent, has opened gates for
further negative stereotypes at the workplace.
The stereotypes of Asians are ‘smart’, ‘nerdy’, and anti-social are used by most people to
connote otherness. The work place excels on a culture that breeds cohesiveness and healthy
relations that allow a group of people to work towards a common objective. When a section of
the team is considered not part of the team, either because they are too good or bad at their jobs,
they cannot be productive enough. This research proposal will examine the extent of this
problem in the American society and particularly at the work place. How did these stereotypes
come to be? What is their historical perspective? What are their impacts on the Asian
community? And do both Asians and Asian-Americans experience the same stereotypes?
, Surname 2
Literature Review
In an article titled Attitude Toward Asian Americans: Theory and Measurement, Colin Ho
and Jay W. Jason, noted that Asian stereotypes indicate both positive and negative factors. Most
of the negative stereotypes are mostly rooted in what may seem to be positive stereotypes
initially and positive instrumental attitudes (Ho & Jason, 7). Thus even what may seem to be a
positive attitude towards Asians, for instance their intelligence, eventually leads to negative
stereotypes. In the case of the ‘smart’ stereotype the stereotype of ‘nerdyness’ and anti-social
characteristics are born (Lin et al, 21). Most of the negative stereotypes come from envy and
insecurity imposed on coworkers by the competent aspects and perceptions of Asians. Therefore,
some people who are threatened and envious of an Asian coworker’s intelligence will exploit
their negative aspects, e.g. deficiency in sociability, to discriminate them.
According to Monica Lin, Virginia Kwan, and Anna Cheung the scale of anti-Asian
stereotypes keeps expand while those of other minority groups, African American for example,
are shrinking (15). This disparity is caused by the absence of Asian stereotypes discussion from
the racism discourse in the western world. Monica Lin et al differentiate the two dimensions of
anti-Asian stereotypes: excessive competence and deficient sociability. Most people see Asians
as excessively intelligent and book smart. These positive stereotypes lead to negative relations
between Asians and co-workers who envy them. It also leads to lack of assistance when Asians
require it. In a survey conducted by researchers from Wharton, Columbia, and NYU, 6,500
emails were sent to professors under false emails (qtd. Leah 1). The contents of the emails
included admiration for the professor’s work and a request to meet. Results from the survey
indicated that emails from whites received the most replies while emails baring Asian names
received the least responses. This is a clear indication of the negative reactions of the excessively
Name
Course
Research Proposal
5th October 2017
Racial Stereotypes of Asians at the Work Place
Introduction
Like any other group of people in the United States, people hold certain stereotypes
against Asians. Some of these stereotypes are positive while most are negative. Even the positive
stereotypes prove to be not so positive as they eventually lead to negative stereotypes. For many
years Asians have outperformed other minorities in education, employment, and income. This
has led to their being labelled the ‘model minority’ in the United States. The success of Asians in
most fields has, however, hidden from public discourse the continued stereotyping of the
minority group in America. It is ironical that the ‘model minority’ should continue to experience
negative stereotyping, especially at the workplace, even after relative success in assimilation. But
even the stereotype of ‘model minority’ while positive to some extent, has opened gates for
further negative stereotypes at the workplace.
The stereotypes of Asians are ‘smart’, ‘nerdy’, and anti-social are used by most people to
connote otherness. The work place excels on a culture that breeds cohesiveness and healthy
relations that allow a group of people to work towards a common objective. When a section of
the team is considered not part of the team, either because they are too good or bad at their jobs,
they cannot be productive enough. This research proposal will examine the extent of this
problem in the American society and particularly at the work place. How did these stereotypes
come to be? What is their historical perspective? What are their impacts on the Asian
community? And do both Asians and Asian-Americans experience the same stereotypes?
, Surname 2
Literature Review
In an article titled Attitude Toward Asian Americans: Theory and Measurement, Colin Ho
and Jay W. Jason, noted that Asian stereotypes indicate both positive and negative factors. Most
of the negative stereotypes are mostly rooted in what may seem to be positive stereotypes
initially and positive instrumental attitudes (Ho & Jason, 7). Thus even what may seem to be a
positive attitude towards Asians, for instance their intelligence, eventually leads to negative
stereotypes. In the case of the ‘smart’ stereotype the stereotype of ‘nerdyness’ and anti-social
characteristics are born (Lin et al, 21). Most of the negative stereotypes come from envy and
insecurity imposed on coworkers by the competent aspects and perceptions of Asians. Therefore,
some people who are threatened and envious of an Asian coworker’s intelligence will exploit
their negative aspects, e.g. deficiency in sociability, to discriminate them.
According to Monica Lin, Virginia Kwan, and Anna Cheung the scale of anti-Asian
stereotypes keeps expand while those of other minority groups, African American for example,
are shrinking (15). This disparity is caused by the absence of Asian stereotypes discussion from
the racism discourse in the western world. Monica Lin et al differentiate the two dimensions of
anti-Asian stereotypes: excessive competence and deficient sociability. Most people see Asians
as excessively intelligent and book smart. These positive stereotypes lead to negative relations
between Asians and co-workers who envy them. It also leads to lack of assistance when Asians
require it. In a survey conducted by researchers from Wharton, Columbia, and NYU, 6,500
emails were sent to professors under false emails (qtd. Leah 1). The contents of the emails
included admiration for the professor’s work and a request to meet. Results from the survey
indicated that emails from whites received the most replies while emails baring Asian names
received the least responses. This is a clear indication of the negative reactions of the excessively
