Just as people assume that all cars have four wheels, while all bicycles have two, they also assume that all men have certain attributes that differ from women. So, these stereotypes about cars and bicycles are not always accurate. Stereotypes about men and women are even less likely to be accurate, as people's characteristics vary much more so than do vehicles. Some men have physical or psychological characteristics that are more characteristic of women, while some women may resemble men in certain ways. So stereotypes are generalizations that are often oversimplified and wrong.
Stereotypes are especially likely to be wrong in conflict situations.
When people are engaged in a conflict, their image of their opponent tends to become more and more hostile. As communication gets cut off, people make generalizations and assumptions about opponents based on very sketchy and often erroneous information. Such negative stereotypes make any sort of conflict resolution or conflict management process more difficult. A first step toward overcoming these problems is becoming aware of the tendency to hold negative stereotypes of opponents, and then making a conscious efforts to correct the inaccuracies. Small group workshops-dialogues, analytical problem solving workshops, mediation sessions, joint projects, and training programs are all ways in which stereotypes can begin to be broken down and more accurate images of the opponents developed.