The article is devoted to the influence of the individual’s stereotypes of consciousness and behavior on the domestic economic reforms in the late 1980 and the 1990s. It is shown that the very formulation of the problem contains an element of scientific novelty, because in this perspective, the history of modern Russian reforms has not been studied. The article is written on the basis of a complex of well-known and sources-memoirs of the participants of transformations previously unused by historians, as well as on the basis of their diaries and data of sociological surveys (including those conducted by the author), materials of oral history. Significant part of the sources is introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The historiography is dominated by works published over the past five years. The research methodology is based on the methods of content analysis, the method of biographical practices, the actor approach, the history of representation and other methods and approaches of modern anthropological research. As a result, it was revealed that the studied stereotypes actively influenced the implementation of the reforms, not only hindering their implementation, but also contributing to it. These same stereotypes were a kind of mechanism of adaptation of the Russians to the new economic conditions. The most common stereotypes are considered. The approaches to their classification for the purposes of this study are indicated. In conclusion, the author draws conclusions about the importance of stereotypes in the history of modern Russian economic reforms.