MUTUAL IMAGES : FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE MUTUAL STEREOTYPES OF THE CHINESE AND MALAYS IN SINGAPORE TODAY

Abstract

Singapore, being a multi-ethnic society, is an ideal place for the researcher who is interested in gaining a better insight into inter-ethnic relations. Very often, much of the focus on inter-ethnic relations seems to be centred specifically on inter-ethnic behaviour (e.g. inter-ethnic marriages, inter-group relations in the society as a whole - whether there is integration, assimilation or communal strife). Little has been done on inter-group attitudes, especially in the cognitive aspect of how ethnic groups view one another, i.e., the stereotypes that ethnic groups hold of one another. Studying how and why stereo types are derived by ethnic groups of each other, can tell us just as much about ethnic relations in a society as in studying inter-group behaviour.