Stereotype Threat, Self-Affirmation, and Women\u27s Statistics Performance

Stereotype threat (fear of confirming a negative group stereotype that in turn can inhibit academic performance) has been implicated in the gender gap observed in the field of mathematics. Even though stereotype threat depresses women\u27s performance, there has been much research reporting various interventions that ameliorate its negative effects. The current study investigated stereotype threat specifically in statistics--an unexplored area in the research literature --and the alleviating effects of self-affirmation. Participants in three conditions (control, stereotype threat, stereotype threat + affirmation) completed a statistics test. In both stereotype threat conditions participants were given a verbal prime to induce stereotype threat, but only the stereotype threat + affirmation condition was given the affirmation task. The predictions that stereotype threat would depress women\u27s statistics performance and that self-affirmation would minimize stereotype threat were not supported. How a performance expectation relates to a successful stereotype threat prime was discussed as are study limitations and directions for future research

The roles of motivation and ability in controlling the consequences of stereotype suppression

Two experiments investigated the conditions under which previously suppressed stereotypes are applied in impression formation. In Experiment 1, the extent to which a previously suppressed racial stereotype influenced subsequent impressions depended on the race of the target who was subsequently encountered. Whereas impressions of race-unspecified targets were assimilated to the stereotype following its suppression, no such effects were observed when the target belonged to the racial group whose stereotype had been initially suppressed. These results demonstrate that when perceivers are motivated to avoid stereo-typing individuals, the influence of a stereotype that has been previously activated through suppression is minimized. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these processing goals effectively reduce the impact of suppression-activated stereotypes only when perceivers have sufficient capacity to enact the goals. These results suggest that both sufficient motivation and capacity are necessary to prevent heightened stereotyping following stereotype suppression

Typology of Ideal Personality: Applicant Perspective In Job Selection Setting

Previously studies suggest that job applicant fake response on a personality test based on their stereotype of ideal employee. This study explored typology of personality that relied on applicants’ stereotype. Experimental participant (N=200) completed three factors of BFI-44 (extroversion, conscientiousness, openness) under two different instruction. An honest fashion (honest condition) and under instructions to a response as if applying for a job (applicant condition). In both conditions, latent class analysis yields three classes for each personality factors with different type of personality. Typologies of personalities that rest on a stereotype of an applicant were different from existing typology. Keywords: Faking Response, Type of Personality, Stereotype, Job Applican

A Review and Meta-Analysis of Age-Based Stereotype Threat: Negative Stereotypes, Not Facts, Do the Damage.

Stereotype threat effects arise when an individual feels at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their group and consequently underperforms on stereotype relevant tasks (Steele, 2010). Among older people, underperformance across cognitive and physical tasks is hypothesized to result from age-based stereotype threat (ABST) because of negative age-stereotypes regarding older adults’ competence. The present review and meta-analyses examine 22 published and 10 unpublished articles, including 82 effect sizes (N = 3882) investigating ABST on older people’s (Mage = 69.5) performance. The analysis revealed a significant small-to-medium effect of ABST (d = .28) and important moderators of the effect size. Specifically, older adults are more vulnerable to ABST when (a) stereotype-based rather than fact-based manipulations are used (d = .52); (b) when performance is tested using cognitive measures (d = .36); and (c) occurs reliably when the dependent variable is measured proximally to the manipulation. The review raises important theoretical and methodological issues, and areas for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved

Will to live in older people’s medical decisions: immediate and delayed effects of aging stereotypes

This research explores the duration of age stereotype priming effects on individuals’ will to live when faced with a medical terminal illness decision. Study 1 established the content of the stereotype of the older age group in Portugal. Study 2 tested the effects of priming positive or negative age stereotypes on older and younger individuals’ will to live, immediately after priming or after a delay. Results showed significant effects of stereotype valence on older people’s will to live. As expected, immediate and delayed will-to-live scores were both lower in the negative than in the positive condition. In contrast, among younger people there were no significant effects of stereotype valence. These findings demonstrate the robustness of these types of unconscious influences on older people’s fundamental decisions

When not thinking leads to being and doing: Stereotype suppression and the self

Suppressing stereotypes often results in more stereotype use, an effect attributed to heightened stereotype activation. The authors report two experiments examining the consequences of suppression on two self-relevant outcomes: the active self-concept and overt behavior. Participants who suppressed stereotypes incorporated stereotypic traits into their self-concepts and demonstrated stereotype-congruent behavior compared to those who were exposed to the same stereotypes but did not suppress them. These findings address issues emerging from current theories of suppression, priming, and the active self

THE EFFECT OF STEREOTYPE ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FEMALE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

This study investigated the effect stereotypes have on cognitive performance. A between-subjects experimental design was utilized in the study. Forty participants from the senior secondary two (SS2) of Chapel Secondary School Ilorin took part in the study, and their cognitive performance in the light of exposure to a stereotype was measured. Four hypotheses were tested. Using the t-test for independent samples, the findings of the experiment showed that males performed better than females on a mathematics test when exposed to stereotype (t=2.688, df=l8, p<O.OS). The study also found that males who were exposed to stereotype performed better than males who were not exposed to stereotype (t=2.998, df=l8, p< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the performance of females who were exposed to stereotype and those who were not (t=2.740, df=l8, p>O.OS). Stereotypes have been identified to affect the way people see things and the way they interpret certain behaviours of other individuals or groups. Therefore understanding the nature of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination is the first step in combating these practices

Helping Our Students Reach Their Full Potential: The Insidious Consequences of Stereotype Threat

A psychological phenomenon may be a significant cause of academic underachievement by minorities in law school. This phenomenon, called stereotype threat, occurs as a result of the fear of confirming a negative group stereotype (such as African-Americans are not as intelligent as Whites). When subject to this threat — as a consequence of being confronted with environmental or explicit triggers — people do worse in academic settings than they otherwise are capable of doing. In this article, I explore the implications of the research on stereotype threat for law schools and make several recommendations to deal with the threat. There are natural implications for law school admissions, of course. If a portion of our applicant pool is affected by stereotype threat, then we cannot trust the accuracy of the metrics we typically use in law school admissions, i.e., prior academic performance and LSAT scores of law school applicants. Indeed, those credentials actually may under-evaluate the academic potential of these applicants, who are often minority students. This should cause law schools to reevaluate their admissions policies. After students are admitted, law school provides fertile ground within which stereotype threat can flourish. This, of course, means that the performance of minorities in law school — in class, on exams, and in other areas — is likely to be diminished, such that many minorities will not perform up to their academic capacity. And, obviously, we would expect this same dynamic to play out on the bar exam. Law schools can address stereotype threat at each of these levels, and they should do so. This article lays out a framework for understanding and dealing with the threat