You have heard guys go like, "Women love money” and women go like "Men are only interested in sex”, right?These stereotypes are the reason progress is almost a stranger to us. They are not only hurtful especially, but also morally improper.  Constantly putting someone down based on your preconceived perception will not encourage them to change or be who you want them to be. In other words, people often take their own mental picture of a type of person, and generalise it to all people in that group, without taking into account individuality or even the errors that may exist in the original mental picture. For example, a person doing the hiring for a company may have the stereotype that elderly people are feeble, absentminded, and unable to keep up in the workplace. Upon receiving an application from a formerly retired person, it is dismissed, because she is relying solely on her negative stereotype of elderly people. In this case, the stereotype is that elderly people are less qualified; the prejudice is against all elderly people in general, the discrimination is failure to hire the person based on their age. Another assumption of this kind, especially common in Africa, is that people with rich backgrounds do not need to work hard since they already have a lot of fortune under their name. Isn’t this the kind of custom that has permanently made us slaves to financial dependency?All cuties are slow thinkers (as popular argument insists that no one can ever have it all) or quite similarly ,that they do not need to work hard to improve their status since they can easily live off their looks. The saying "Don’t judge a book by its cover”, however old and tired, is still highly relevant. It demonstrates that appearance or background isn’t enough to understand who a person really is.The other common misconception is a potbelly, among men especially in Africa, being associated with wealth or well-being; and obviously this explains why some people who have gathered considerable riches deliberately feed heavily on oil and sugary foods so as to achieve the look, not knowing that they are risking their health. See how stereotypes can be dangerous?