Stereotyping: Biker's Like Movies Too - The 'Carlsberg Social Experiment'.

One-hundred & Forty-eight bikers.

Hairy, studded jacket-donning, wouldn't-want-to-run-into-you-down-a-dark-alley looking bikers. All crammed into your local movie-theatre. But hey - lucky for you and your date for the evening - there just so happen to be two seats free! As if that wasn't enough of a stroke of luck, it seems the seats are situated dead-centre in the middle of the sea of leather and facial-hair that confronts you - the best view in the house.

Would you sit down? Or perhaps suddenly remember the bathroom light you may have left on? Reason enough surely to proceed with your hasty exit from the reverse-screening of the latest episode of 'Sons Of Anarchy'.

It was this question which was posed to a selection of unsuspecting Belgian couples, in Carlsberg's advertisement-turned social experiment. Couples were sold their tickets directed to amble on down to the relevant screen, unaware that 148 of the 150 seats would be taken by the aforementioned army of Belgian bikers. Many of them left. Those that stayed were rewarded with rapturous applause from the leather-clad stooges, and more importantly, free beer.

Honestly, it's fantastic. Probably my favourite advert of all time. In fact, in honour of it's majesty I'd like to crack open a Carlsberg right here, right now. Okay, I have no Carlsberg. Orange & Pineapple flavoured squash it is. The thought was there.

Anyhoo, here's the link for those that are interested: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2011/09/26/carlsberg-runs-social-experiment-belgium

It's funny, quite heart-warming viewing. But looking beyond that, this study poses a broader question, one which concerns our societal values as a whole:

How prominent a role does 'Stereotyping' play in our everyday lives?

Well, looking at the evidence - at least 7/11 prominents.

The truth is, the further down the evolutionary ladder we go, the more useful 'Stereotyping' becomes as a survival mechanism. As a species we were conditioned over thousands of years to trust our gut instincts. Given that visual cues were often the only information immediately available to us - our very survival rested on our ability to pass accurate judgement: 'Does this person/animal/colourful plant present a danger to me?'

And we wonder why first-impressions count for so much. Maybe on the next blind-date, leave the sharpened-stick collection at home.

The trouble arises when we find ourselves - as we do today - living in a generally civilised & orderly society. Danger isn't nearly as omnipresent as it once was, yet our brains have not yet kicked their 100,000 year-old habit. Racism, Homophobia, Gender-Profiling, Stereotyping inevitably leads to such ugly behaviours. Yet sub-consciously, we still look for these cues, unknowingly adjusting our actions to fit their paranoid demands.

Your 'Brain' decides before 'You' do.

That's a rather confusing sub-heading, I realise this. However the longer this sentence gets the harder it becomes to go back and start from scratch. What a pickle.

What I mean by this is that a portion of our brains - The 'Amygdala' - appears to make a split-second judgement about each and every face we see, long before our conscious mind has had a chance to truly 'Recognise' them.

This section of the brain is - unsurprisingly - key to the processing of emotions such as anxiety and fear, and plays a prominent role in forming the cognitive foundations upon which many of our more primitive survival-instincts are built upon.

So, rather than emerging from socio-cultural beliefs: hear-say and gossip, perhaps culminating in internal dialogues such as:'I've seen Tv, bikers are lunatics and criminals, their beards are detachable explosives and their sunglasses double-up as scimitars', it seems that 'Stereotyping' actually begins within a far deeper, primitive cognitive mechanism.

So, if we can't stop it altogether, how can we reduce Stereotyping's impact upon Society?

As with almost all things psychological - The more we know, the more we can do to monitor its impact upon our lives. The cognitive mechanisms are, unfortunately, buried deep within our psyches. It may take a few more thousand years of civilised living to convince our brains to 'Chill out' a little.

However, by knowing that our brains are programmed to react in this way we can allow ourselves to adopt a position of thoughtful control, rather than instinctive reaction. Just because our Amygdala wants us to behave in a certain way doesn't mean that we have to abide to it's every whim. Our actions in the long-term are down to us, to our conscious mind.

The damage caused by stereotyping permeates every layer of our society. Racism, Homophobia, Gender-Profiling - This outdated survival-mechanism has largely served its purpose, it has become the hereditary baggage which we unknowingly carry with us each and everyday.

Luckily, by recognising its effects we can reduce our personal obligation to its paranoid whims, and begin treating each and every person we encounter with the respect that they deserve. Everyone should start with the same blank score-card, leave the handicaps to the golfers.

And, lastly, if you're planning on going to the movies - sit next to the biker.

They like movies too.

And they carry free beer, apparently.

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Source material and further (Very interesting!) reading can be found at:

I hope you've enjoyed this post, as always any feedback (or just general chat) is more than welcome! If you found it bearable or perhaps even, dare I say, not bad? Then you're more than welcome to follow me for more weird and wonderful bits and bobs from the world of Psychology.

Have a wonderful day all.