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Social Categorization Humans are very efficient creatures and we use many tools to compress, utilize, and retain information. One of the tools that we use is termed social categorization. Social categorization describes a kind organization used by people to remember social interactions. By thinking of people as members of a group rather than as individuals one can simplify and recall information quickly. As social creatures, humans come in contact with many people of different colors, …

…important to them. Hasidic Jews, for example, are likely to categorize others according to their religion as well as gender (two important values in this culture). Many societies (including ours) are against interracial marriages due to this cultural importance (Blaine 19). In closing, we select social categories for several reasons. Those reasons: noticeable physical characteristics, frequent use, and cultural importance. Categories are meant to utilize our cognitive ability and keep social information organized and readily available.