ABSTRACT

It is possible for symbols which evoke stereotypes to be received through any of the five senses: the smeli of garlic, the clasp of a callused hand, the toste of curry, the sight of excessive make-up, the sound of a familiar phonograph record. The possibility of such exploitation is gradingly acknowledged by some of the better texts on methodology, but only after careful and detailed instruction concerning the efficacy of "objectivity" and freedom from "bias." Differences in evaluations of nurses and nursing by different publics within a metropolitan area were to be determined quantitatively and interpreted with the aid of qualitative analysis of responses. One way to test the proposition that stereotypes can be employed in this manner is to observe the extent to which the procedure "works" in actual practice. stereotypes reflect definitions of the situation and, to the extent that specific segments in our society define an occupational group in a certain manner.