Effect of Stereotypes

stereotypes

a generalisation that is made about a group and then attributed to members of the group

effect of stereotypes

the way stereotypes can influence a person’s thoughts, feelings, behaviour, or performance

stereotype threat

when an individual is at a threat of being judged stereotypically and inadvertently confirms the stereotype

Steele and Aronson (1995) - Aim

To investigate test performance as a function of stereotype threat in white and African American participants

Steele and Aronson - Method

114 male and female, African American and white Stanford undergraduates; true lab, independent measures, convenience sampling

Steele and Aronson - Procedure

• Participants were contacted prior to provide SAT scores, background information

• Told by the experimenter (a white man) that they were doing a 30-minute set of verbal problems similar to the SAT

• In control condition: participants were told that the test had nothing to do with intellectual ability

• In experimental condition: told that the test diagnosed intellectual ability

Steele and Aronson - Results

• White participants performed equally in the experimental and control conditions

• African American participants performed as well as white participants in control

• African American participants performed worse than white participants in experimental

Steele and Aronson - Conclusion

Linking the test to diagnosing intellectual ability depresses the performance of African American students through stereotype threat

Steele and Aronson - Link

• Demonstrate an effect of stereotyping on academic performance through stereotype threat

• Presenting the test as a measure of intellectual ability and African American students performing worse than white participants created a stereotype threat

• Making a negative group stereotype relevant to a testing situation was associated with poorer performance in the stereotyped group