A stereotype is a standardized mental picture based on a common characteristic of a group of people, representing an oversimplified opinion or an uncritical judgment that is not reality-based. In order to understand the psychological basis of sex-role stereotyping it must be understood that the stereotype of men as strong, independent, and in control is based on psychological norms of mental health. Sex-role stereotypes begin at birth when babies are treated in stereotypic ways by families. Teachers continue stereotypic attitudes, regarding girls as better behaved and boys as having better bodies and brains. Sex-role stereotypes are often continued by peers, especially in puberty when sex-role expectations become even clearer. In language and communication, sex-role stereotypes are promoted through such thing as the Miss and Mrs. terms, which denote a woman's relationship to a man. Schools can perpetuate sex-role stereotypes through the teachers' unconscious attitudes, feminine atmospheres in elementary schools, sexist language in texbtooks, and by not challenging women high school students to take adequate mathematics and science courses. Bias against women in the workplace still exists. Stereotypic views of men and women are constraining and harmful to both genders. To correct this, each person can treat others as individual human beings, and not only as members of a group. Respect for the individual will enrich everyone's life, and only when it is achieved can people begin to challenge and change sexism in society. (ABL)