Stereotypes are consolidated, collective attributions with emotional content that can only be grasped through their representation in language or depiction.
Stereotype research does not try to determine the truth and veracity of stereotypes or disprove them, but determines their functions and effects in social discourses.
Researching historical stereotypes above that looks at the correlation of genesis, function and effect of stereotypes in the processes of collective identity formation.
The interdependencies and interaction of autostereotypes and heterostereotypes are among the main research interests of members of the Oldenburg-based AHS.