Using Adolescents' Drawings to Reveal Stereotypes About Ethnic Groups in Guatemala

It is important to identify stereotypes about indigenous people because those stereotypes influence prejudice and discrimination, both obstacles to social justice and universal human rights. The purpose of the current study was to document the stereotypes, as held by Guatemalan adolescents, of indigenous Maya people (e.g., Maya) and nonindigenous Ladinos in Guatemala (the 2 main ethnic groups in Guatemala). Guatemalan adolescents (N = 465; 38.3% female; M-age = 14.51 years; SDage = 1.81 years) provided drawings and written characteristics about indigenous Maya and nonindigenous Ladino people, which were then coded for patterns in the data. These patterns included negative stereotypes, such as the Maya being lazy and Ladina women being weak; and positive stereotypes, such as the Maya being caring and warm and Ladino men being successful. There were also interactions between the participants' own gender and ethnicity and how they depicted the target they were assigned. For example, male participants were unlikely to depict male targets of either ethnicity engaging in homemaking activities. Finally, there was evidence of in-group bias based both on gender and ethnicity. These findings suggest that perhaps because indigenous groups around the world share some common negative stereotypes, an understanding of these stereotypes will aid in decreasing prejudice and discrimination against indigenous people, could reduce intergroup conflict, and increase access to basic human rights. Public Policy Relevance Statement Using mixed-methods to investigate stereotypes about ethnic groups leads to a better understanding of the prevalence and meaning of those stereotypes, especially among young people. These findings suggest that when teenagers in Guatemala are asked to draw and describe a typical member of a specific ethnic group, they use stereotypes common to indigenous people around the world when describing indigenous Maya men and women. Understanding the stereotypes and discrimination that indigenous peoples everywhere share will aid policymakers and educators as they develop evidence-based and effective interventions aimed to reduce the oppression of indigenous peoples.