Stereotypes are generalized beliefs about people based on their membership in a particular group. Stereotypes can be negative (making derogatory comments about the group), positive (suggest that the group does well in a certain domain, e.g. "members of an ethnic group are really smart"), or neutral (no value judgement, but a generalization nonetheless). One example of a neutral stereotype that I can think of is that we often talk about Western cultures being individualistic whereas Eastern cultures are perceived as being more collectivist. This is a gross oversimplification (and hence a stereotype), but there's no qualifiers about whether being individualist or collectivist is good/bad, and someone could easily argue one over the other based on personal opinions.