Stereotype threat

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Stereotype threat is a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group.[1][2][3][4] It is theorized to be a contributing factor to long-standing racial and gender gaps in academic performance.[5][6][7][8][9] Since its introduction into the academic literature, stereotype threat has become one of the most widely studied topics in the field of social psychology.[10]

Situational factors that increase stereotype threat can include the difficulty of the task, the belief that the task measures their abilities, and the relevance of the stereotype to the task. Individuals show higher degrees of stereotype threat on tasks they wish to perform well on and when they identify strongly with the stereotyped group. These effects are also increased when they expect discrimination due to their identification with a negatively stereotyped group.[11] Repeated experiences of stereotype threat can lead to a vicious circle of diminished confidence, poor performance, and loss of interest in the relevant area of achievement.[8] Stereotype threat has been argued to show a reduction in the performance of individuals who belong to negatively stereotyped groups.[12][13] Its role in affecting public health disparities has also been suggested.[14]

According to the theory, if negative stereotypes are present regarding a specific group, group members are likely to become anxious about their performance, which may hinder their ability to perform to their full potential.[15] Importantly, the individual does not need to subscribe to the stereotype for it to be activated. It is hypothesized that the mechanism through which anxiety (induced by the activation of the stereotype) decreases performance is by depleting working memory (especially the phonological aspects of the working memory system).[16]

The opposite of stereotype threat is stereotype boost, which is when people perform better than they otherwise would have, because of exposure to positive stereotypes about their social group.[17] A variant of stereotype boost is stereotype lift, which is people achieving better performance because of exposure to negative stereotypes about other social groups.[17]

Some researchers have suggested that stereotype threat should not be interpreted as a factor in real-life performance gaps, and have raised the possibility of publication bias.[18][19][20] Other critics have focused on correcting what they claim are misconceptions of early studies showing a large effect.[21] Meta-analyses and systematic reviews have shown significant evidence for the effects of stereotype threat, though the phenomenon defies over-simplistic characterization.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][9]

  1. ^ "Stereotype threat widens achievement gap". American Psychological Association. July 15, 2006. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  2. ^ Steele CM, Aronson J (November 1995). "Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans" (PDF). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 69 (5): 797–811. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797. PMID 7473032. S2CID 4665022.
  3. ^ Steele CM (June 1997). "A threat in the air. How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance". The American Psychologist. 52 (6): 613–629. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.52.6.613. PMID 9174398.
  4. ^ "Stereotype Threat". Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity at NIH. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  5. ^ Osborne JW (July 2001). "Testing Stereotype Threat: Does Anxiety Explain Race and Sex Differences in Achievement?". Contemporary Educational Psychology. 26 (3): 291–310. doi:10.1006/ceps.2000.1052. PMID 11414722.
  6. ^ Goldsmith PA (April 2004). "Schools' Racial Mix, Students' Optimism, and the Black-White and Latino-White Achievement Gaps". Sociology of Education. 77 (2): 121–147. doi:10.1177/003804070407700202. ISSN 0038-0407. S2CID 145433651.
  7. ^ Ellison G, Swanson A (June 2010). "The Gender Gap in Secondary School Mathematics at High Achievement Levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions" (PDF). Journal of Economic Perspectives. 24 (2): 109–128. doi:10.1257/jep.24.2.109. ISSN 0895-3309. S2CID 51730381.
  8. ^ a b Gilovich T, Keltner D, Nisbett RE (2006). "Being a member of a stigmatized group: stereotype threat". Social psychology. New York: W.W. Norton. pp. 467–468. ISBN 978-0-393-97875-9.
  9. ^ a b VanLandingham H, Ellison RL, Laique A, Cladek A, Khan H, Gonzalez C, Dunn MR (February 2022). "A scoping review of stereotype threat for BIPOC: Cognitive effects and intervention strategies for the field of neuropsychology". The Clinical Neuropsychologist. 36 (2): 503–522. doi:10.1080/13854046.2021.1947388. PMID 34233577. S2CID 235769090.
  10. ^ Schmader T, Johns M, Forbes C (April 2008). "An integrated process model of stereotype threat effects on performance". Psychological Review. 115 (2): 336–356. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.115.2.336. PMC 2570773. PMID 18426293.
  11. ^ Steele CM, Spencer SJ, Aronson J (2002). "Contending with group image: the psychology of stereotype and social identity threat". Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Volume 34. Vol. 34. pp. 379–440. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(02)80009-0. ISBN 9780120152346.
  12. ^ Steele CM, Spencer SJ, Aronson J (1964). "Contending with group image: the psychology of stereotype and social identity threat". In Zanna MP (ed.). Advances in experimental social psychology. Vol. 34. Amsterdam: Academic Press. pp. 379–440. ISBN 9780120152346.
  13. ^ Steele CM (June 1997). "A threat in the air. How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance". The American Psychologist. 52 (6): 613–629. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.318.9608. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.52.6.613. PMID 9174398.
  14. ^ Aronson J, Burgess D, Phelan SM, Juarez L (January 2013). "Unhealthy interactions: the role of stereotype threat in health disparities". American Journal of Public Health. 103 (1): 50–56. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300828. PMC 3518353. PMID 23153125.
  15. ^ Feingold J (2011). "Racing Towards Colorblindness: Stereotype Threat and the Myth of Meritocracy". Georgetown Journal of Law and Modern Critical Race Perspectives. 3.
  16. ^ Beilock SL, Rydell RJ, McConnell AR (May 2007). "Stereotype threat and working memory: mechanisms, alleviation, and spillover". Journal of Experimental Psychology. General. 136 (2): 256–76. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.669.9881. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.136.2.256. PMID 17500650.
  17. ^ a b Shih MJ, Pittinsky TL, Ho GC (2011). "Stereotype boost: positive outcomes from the activation of positive stereotypes". In Inzlicht M, Schmader T (eds.). Stereotype threat: theory, process, and application. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 5–6, 141–143. ISBN 978-0-19-973244-9.
  18. ^ Ganley CM, Mingle LA, Ryan AM, Ryan K, Vasilyeva M, Perry M (October 2013). "An examination of stereotype threat effects on girls' mathematics performance" (PDF). Developmental Psychology. 49 (10): 1886–1897. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.353.4436. doi:10.1037/a0031412. PMID 23356523. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2014.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stoet2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Flore2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sackett2004a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Nguyen HH, Ryan AM (November 2008). "Does stereotype threat affect test performance of minorities and women? A meta-analysis of experimental evidence". The Journal of Applied Psychology. 93 (6): 1314–1334. doi:10.1037/a0012702. PMID 19025250.
  24. ^ Walton GM, Spencer SJ (September 2009). "Latent ability: grades and test scores systematically underestimate the intellectual ability of negatively stereotyped students". Psychological Science. 20 (9): 1132–1139. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02417.x. PMID 19656335. S2CID 25810191.
  25. ^ Gentile A, Boca S, Giammusso I (2018-11-01). "'You play like a Woman!' Effects of gender stereotype threat on Women's performance in physical and sport activities: A meta-analysis". Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 39: 95–103. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.07.013. ISSN 1469-0292. S2CID 149490634.
  26. ^ Lamont RA, Swift HJ, Abrams D (March 2015). "A review and meta-analysis of age-based stereotype threat: negative stereotypes, not facts, do the damage". Psychology and Aging. 30 (1): 180–193. doi:10.1037/a0038586. PMC 4360754. PMID 25621742.
  27. ^ Picho K, Rodriguez A, Finnie L (May 2013). "Exploring the moderating role of context on the mathematics performance of females under stereotype threat: a meta-analysis". The Journal of Social Psychology. 153 (3): 299–333. doi:10.1080/00224545.2012.737380. PMID 23724702. S2CID 45950675.
  28. ^ Liu S, Liu P, Wang M, Zhang B (June 2021). "Effectiveness of stereotype threat interventions: A meta-analytic review". The Journal of Applied Psychology. 106 (6): 921–949. doi:10.1037/apl0000770. PMID 32772526. S2CID 221098319.