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experiences. Similarly to symbol or myth, stereotype is of

ambivalent character and conveys both positive and negative

meanings and references, relying on such factors as age,

gender, race, religion, profession and nationality (Permyakova,
2015), which are modeled by history tradition, politics, and

essentially by the mass media (Katia, 2007, p. 176)

According to A. P. Sadokhin, stereotypes «are built rigidly

in» our system of values. They are its component and provide
a peculiar protection of our positions in society. For this reason,

stereotypes are used in each cross-cultural situation. It is

impossible to do without the use of these extremely general

culturally specific schemes of evaluation, both own group, and

other cultural groups.

According to Allport (Allport, 1999) stereotypes are ‘a

generalized set of beliefs about a group of people.' Another

definition describes stereotypes as a kind of ethnocentrism i.e.,

‘it is the belief in the intrinsic superiority of the culture to which

one belongs, accompanied by feelings of dislike and contempt
to other cultures.

According to an American linguist, Joyce Valdes, people

are culture bound and do not see the confines of their own

culture. “Most people of whatever nation, see themselves and

their compatriots not as culture but as ‘standard' or ‘right', and
the rest of the world as made up of cultures.

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