stereotypes

What are stereotypes in psychology?

Stereotypes are widely held and oversimplified beliefs about the characteristics of a group and its members. They act as a form of social recognition and influence perception, judgment, and interaction.

What is stereotype threat?

Stereotype threat is the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, which can lead to increased anxiety and decreased performance.

Which study demonstrates the effect of stereotype threat on behavior?

Steele & Aronson (1995)

What was the aim of Steele & Aronson (1995)?

To investigate whether stereotype threat affects the performance of African-American students on a verbal test.

What was the procedure in Steele & Aronson (1995)?

African-American and White university students took a difficult verbal test. They were randomly assigned to either a "threat condition" (told the test measured intelligence) or a "non-threat condition" (told it was a problem-solving task).

What were the results of Steele & Aronson (1995)?

African-American students in the stereotype threat condition performed significantly worse than White students. No significant difference was found in the non-threat condition.

What do the findings of Steele & Aronson suggest?

Negative stereotypes can impair performance through anxiety and pressure, supporting the concept of stereotype threat as a behavioral influence.

How are stereotypes more than just cognitive structures?

They can influence behavior by triggering stereotype threat, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What is an illusory correlation in relation to stereotypes?

It's when people perceive a correlation between two variables (like group membership and behavior) when none exists, often due to noticing rare or surprising behaviors more.

How does illusory correlation contribute to stereotyping?

It leads to cognitive bias by making people overgeneralize and misattribute behaviors to certain groups, reinforcing stereotypes.